Department of Health and Social Care

Mortality Rates

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of public expenditure on health and social care on rates of mortality.

Steve Brine: The Department continues to increase investment in health and social care and has committed to backing the National Health Service with an additional £10 billion, in real terms, by 2020/21. At the spring Budget we announced an additional £2 billion will be given to councils over the next three years for social care. In total, we have given councils access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care between 2017/18 and 2019/20. The Department also monitors and publishes wider quarterly wider health outcome measures including mortality statistics in the NHS Outcomes Frameworks. The NHS Outcomes Framework is a set of indicators developed by the Department to monitor the health outcomes of adults and children in England. The Framework sets out health outcome measures including mortality statistics in the NHS. The latest statistics among those aged under 75 show that the mortality rates from the two largest causes of death (cancer and cardiovascular disease) have reduced between 2010 and 2016 (by 12.2 and 16.8 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively). The rates for the next two (respiratory disease and liver disease) have increased over the same period. However, the increases for respiratory and liver disease are smaller than the falls for cancer and cardiovascular disease (by 1.6 and 0.5 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively).

Cancer: Yorkshire and the Humber

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made in implementing the NHS England Cancer Strategy in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Steve Brine: Cancer is a priority programme for the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP). It is also a national clinical priority and a key recommendation from the independent Cancer Taskforce in the Cancer Strategy for England was to establish local Cancer Alliances as the decision-making body in relation to the planning and delivery of the Strategy locally.Work has been undertaken with stakeholders and the former Cancer Strategy Groups to shape the local cancer ambition and the transition to Cancer Alliances. Within Yorkshire and the Humber there are three Cancer Alliances:- South Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire;- West Yorkshire and Harrogate; and- Humber, Coast and Vale. Each of the Cancer Alliances has a Board which has developed a work programme which is aligned to and therefore accountable to the STP for delivery. The delivery plans and/or progress update for each Cancer Alliance can be found here: South Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire:https://smybndccgs.nhs.uk/download_file/view/263/359https://smybndccgs.nhs.uk/download_file/view/264/359West Yorkshire and Harrogate:http://www.wyhpartnership.co.uk/download_file/view/208/240Humber, Coast and Vale:http://humbercoastandvale.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Communication-180112.pdf

Prescription Drugs

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to reform the way in which medicines are (a) appraised and (b) funded to ensure that patients have timely access to life-extending medicines at a price that is affordable for the NHS and taxpayer.

Steve Brine: On 3 November, the Government published its response to the Accelerated Access Review. It set out plans to give patients quicker access to life-changing treatments; and, make the United Kingdom the best place in the world for industry to invest and innovate. From April 2018, the new Accelerated Access Pathway will mean selected products with the greatest potential to change lives could be available up to four years earlier by reducing the time taken to negotiate the evaluation and financial approvals necessary before the National Health Service can purchase them. Following a public consultation, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence introduced new arrangements for the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs in July 2016. The new arrangements, including the Cancer Drugs Fund, are designed to ensure that patients benefit from faster access to the most promising new drugs while delivering better value for money for the taxpayer.

Department of Health and Social Care: Staff

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence base was used to inform the reduction of 600 staff in his Department in 2016-17.

Caroline Dinenage: The 2015 Spending Review announced that the Department would be required to reduce its core running costs by 30% by the financial year 2019-20. This announcement, combined with the impact of changes to the way the Department operated with its arm’s length bodies following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act (2012), led to a review of the Department’s role, purpose and priorities. The outcome of this review was the establishment of a change programme which was launched in February 2016 as ‘Our Plan for Change: the Department of Health in 2020’. The primary focus of this plan and its supporting programme was on ensuring the Department could meet the reduced costs target by 2019-20 but it also set out how the Department would stringently reprioritise its resources and ensure staff with the necessary skills and capability could be retained to meet these challenges in a much smaller organisation in the future. An important element of the programme was therefore a restructuring exercise which would help to deliver target savings as well as ensure that the Department retained staff with the right capability and flexibility to be posted to areas of work that would fully support its new priorities. The Plan for Change set out a proposal to develop a new structure for the Department of about 1,300 to 1,400 posts which would be a reduction of between 600 and 700 posts from the baseline of 2,000 posts. The outcome of the prioritisation exercise and proposed structure was shared with staff at the end of summer 2016 so they could easily see the types of roles needed in the future and how they would be assessed should they decide to compete for one of the roles remaining in the Department. The Department undertook work with its heads of professions to help determine the precise professional skills and capabilities needed in the future as well as applying criteria from the Civil Service core competency framework. As a first step towards achieving these target reductions the Department launched a voluntary exit scheme in September 2016. The newly defined and rigorous assessments of capability were applied to the selection of staff, both to this voluntary exit scheme and to the subsequent selection process for staff who eventually competed for roles in the new structures. The restructuring process was completed by February 2017 with majority of the reduction in posts being achieved through voluntary exits.

Public Health: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on public health of changes in the last two year to councils' public health grants.

Steve Brine: Local authorities have the role of improving the health of their populations, backed by £16 billion funding over the Spending Review period. The Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF), published by Public Health England (PHE), sets out a high level overview of public health outcomes at a national and local level supported by a broad set of indicators. The PHOF is available at:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-frameworkMost of the indicators are stable or improving. For example, adult smoking rates in the United Kingdom are now below 16% and are among the lowest in Europe. PHE will continue to publish updates to the PHOF as new data become available.

Dental Services

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dental contracts were not completed in each of the last five years; and how many units of dental activity were undelivered in each case.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Drugs: Licensing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that licensing for new drugs in the UK is not slowed down by the UK leaving the EU and the European Medicines Agency.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In July last year the Government set out three principles which will underpin the development of a post-Brexit regulatory system for medicines and devices: patients should not be disadvantaged; innovators should be able to access the United Kingdom market as quickly and simply as possible; and we will continue to play a leading role in both Europe and the world in promoting public health. As the Prime Minister has stated, the UK is fully committed to continuing the close working relationship with our European partners. In this context, the UK will be working with the European Union to agree how best to continue cooperation in the field of medicines regulation, for the benefit of public health and safety in both the UK and the EU Member States.

NHS: Private Sector

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to conduct an impact assessment of the effect on NHS services of NHS trusts' commercial relationships with private enterprises.

Stephen Barclay: The National Health Service bodies which commission private health treatment are generally local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), and payment to providers would normally be by patient treatment episode, and vary according to what treatment is involved, and the specific arrangements between the CCG and provider. There are also circumstances in which providers of NHS care may sub-contract the care they have been commissioned to provide. In the financial year 2016/2017, 7.7% of total NHS Revenue Expenditure was on private healthcare providers. This is the same percentage as was commissioned in 2015/16.

GP Surgeries and Pharmacy

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of small (a) pharmacies and (b) GP surgeries in (i) Oxford, (ii) Oxfordshire and (iii) England; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to ensuring access to National Health Service pharmaceutical and general practitioner (GP) services. In line with this commitment, NHS England is working with general practice stakeholders to develop primary care networks, which enable more multi-disciplinary working and provide more attractive career models for GPs and practice teams. To ensure that all patients have access to NHS pharmaceutical services locally, the Government has introduced a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which provides additional funds to smaller pharmacies in areas where there are fewer pharmacies and higher health needs. There are more than 1,400 community pharmacies in England in the scheme. This includes seven pharmacies in Oxford West and Abingdon.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to reduce the bowel cancer screening age; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Using existing evidence and modelling techniques the United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UKNSC) is currently consulting on changes to the current bowel screening programme - whether bowel scope and Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) can be offered as a combination or if FIT is robust enough to be the primary screen test from the age of 50 years. The three month consultation closes on 7 April with a recommendation at a subsequent meeting. Information about the consultation and how to participate is available at:https://legacyscreening.phe.org.uk/bowelcancer If any changes are to be made to an existing screening programme this will follow the UK NSC’s published evidence review process which can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process

NHS: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to communicate to the public the value of increases in the health budget.

Stephen Barclay: Documents relating to the recent autumn Budget announcement are published online and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/autumn-budget-2017 NHS England wrote to all trusts on 15 December 2017 informing them of their individual allocation of the additional £337 million winter funding in 2017/18. NHS England and NHS Improvement will issue revised allocations and guidance to providers and commissioners shortly.

NHS: Ancillary Staff

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital administrative staff are paid an annual salary of more than £150,000.

Stephen Barclay: There are 308 full time and 25 part time hospital administrative staff paid an annual salary of more than £150,000 pro rata. These staff are either chief executives and executive directors on the boards of National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts or other very senior managers employed on local contracts, who hold positions that do not require a clinical qualification.

Medical Treatments Abroad

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS patients were treated in (a) Fondation Hopale and the Centre Hospitalier de Calais and (b) other non-UK hospitals in each of the last 48 months for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally.

TeleTracking Technologies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria were used to select the five NHS providers who will be piloting TeleTracking Technologies systems.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what procurement process was used to select TeleTracking Technologies to deliver the Patient and Asset Tracking pilots; and how many other suppliers were considered during that procurement process.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the annual cost to the public purse of each of the five Patient and Asset Tracking pilots being delivered by TeleTracking Technologies is; and what funding is being provided nationally for those pilots.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria will be used to assess the value for money of the TeleTracking technologies pilots.

Stephen Barclay: Teletracking has been piloted at five Patient and Asset Tracking pilot sites across the National Health Service. These sites had already made the decision locally to implement the Teletracking patient workflow system. The trusts implementing this system used their own locally driven procurement processes to select providers and as each local trust has agreed the commercial arrangements associated with teletracking independently, information on costs is not centrally available. National funding has not been made available to the pilots. As the process for selecting providers was undertaken locally by trusts, the assessment of value for money will have formed part of the locally driven procurement processes. The pilot sites have agreed to a set of metrics to be shared with NHS Improvement in order to evaluate impact and inform value for money.

TeleTracking Technologies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, What plans his Department has to roll out TeleTracking technologies across the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: Many National Health Service trusts are considering implementing Patient Workflow Systems to improve patient flow throughout the hospital and patient pathway. Several trusts already have a patient workflow system in place from various providers. TeleTracking is one of the providers of this technology and has been piloted by four sites across the NHS. Work is underway with NHS Digital to develop a national specification and framework that will simplify the process for providers or Sustainability and Transformation Partnership areas to choose a workflow system to improve patient flow. The intention is to have multiple suppliers on that framework.

TeleTracking Technologies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) hospitality, (b) flights and (c) accommodation have been offered by TeleTracking to  senior staff of (i) his Department, (ii) NHS England and (iii) NHS Improvement in each of the last five years.

Stephen Barclay: Two flights and accommodation for eight nights was provided by TeleTracking to senior staff at NHS Improvement during 2017/18.

TeleTracking Technologies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the risk of (a) cyber-attacks and (b) technical failure of TeleTracking Technologies' systems used to deliver the Patient and Asset Tracking pilots; and what steps he is taking to mitigate those risks.

Stephen Barclay: As TeleTracking systems have been selected and implemented locally, cyber security and technical resilience is a matter for the trust concerned. In producing a national framework with NHS Digital, security and resilience would form part of the specification and shortlisting process.

TeleTracking Technologies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any former senior managers at NHS providers piloting TeleTracking Technologies systems to deliver the Patient and Asset Tracking pilots have taken up positions with TeleTracking Technologies since those pilots began.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not held centrally.

TeleTracking Technologies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a fee was paid to the NHS in respect of the client testimonial provided to TeleTracking Solutions by the Director of Improvement Programmes for NHS Improvement.

Stephen Barclay: No client testimonial was requested or fee paid to the Director of Improvement Programmes for NHS Improvement.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Management Consultants

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money was spent by Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust on management consultants in each of the last five years; and whether his Department has undertaken any assessment on whether value for money was achieved by that expenditure.

Stephen Barclay: King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust advises that its total management consultancy spend between 2013/14 and 2017/18 totalled £24.074 million. This spend broken down over the last five years is as follows: 2017/18 (year to date: month 9): £1,699,0002016/17: £4,632,0002015/16: £10,548,0002014/15: £2,088,0002013/14: £5,107,000 King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has used management consultants to support work relating to transformation, productivity and efficiency. Over the last five years the Trust has been supported by management consultants on a number of projects as part of its ongoing Cost Improvement Programme. These projects have made contributions to achieving savings and delivering productivity gains. It is for local leaders, working together with NHS England and NHS Improvement, to make the best use of the funding that has been allocated to them. Lord Bob Kerslake was appointed as Chair of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in April 2015 and resigned from the post in December 2017. Shortly after, in December 2017 the Trust was placed into Special Measures for Finance following serious concerns about its growing deficit.

Patients: Injuries

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were injured while already in hospital in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Open and honest reporting of patient safety incidents is a fundamental pillar of a good patient safety culture. The National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) holds information in relation to reports of patients harmed by patient safety incidents in hospitals or mental health units. The definition of harm within the NRLS extends to any extra need for treatment or observation (e.g. a blood test) or psychological distress rather than solely physical harm that might be understood by the term “injured”. There is no specific data collection of “injured”. The information contained in the table below covers all reported incidents of “harm” over the last five years. Total number of incidents reported as resulting in harm in hospital settings by financial yearFinancial YearNumber of incidents reported as resulting in harm2012/13401,9612013/14427,4432014/15433,0042015/16434,4152016/17445,5532017/18*215,219 Notes:*Partial Financial Year data from April to September 2017.Incidents reported as occurring from 1 April 2012 and 30 September 2017, exported to the NRLS on or before 22 January 2018.

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of over prescribing antibiotics by GP surgeries on the incidence of anti microbial resistance.

Steve Brine: The English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance (ESPAUR) run by Public Health England has made a national assessment of prescribing patterns by general practices and clinical commissioning groups, together with an assessment of trends in antibiotic resistance among the most common types of bacteria causing serious infections. ESPAUR publishes annual reports and the most recent report, published in October 2017, is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/656280/ESPAUR_executive_summary_2017.pdf Antibiotic prescribing is a major driver of antibiotic resistance as antibiotic exposure provides a strong selective pressure for the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria. This is why the Government is seeking to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing as part of a multi-faceted strategy to reduce antibiotic resistance.

Tamoxifen

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice the NHS gives to women on the use of Tamoxifen for the menopause.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing guidance on the prevention and treatment of ill health and the promotion of good health and social care for the National Health Service. NICE has provided recommendations on the use of tamoxifen in pre and postmenopausal women in its clinical guideline on ‘Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment’ which is currently being updated. The guideline can be found at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg80/chapter/1-Guidance#endocrine-therapy NICE is currently updating the guideline, including its recommendations on the use of tamoxifen, and published draft updated guidance for consultation on 24 January.

Pregnancy: Streptococcus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it is policy to provide routine testing for Group B Streptococcus for all pregnant ladies.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Following the United Kingdom National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC’s) meeting in February 2017, the Department accepted the UK NSC’s recommendation that a population-based screening programme for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) carriage should not be offered. The UK NSC will review the evidence for screening once the National Institute of Health Research has published its findings from the clinical trial which compares universal screening for GBS with usual risk based case.

Mental Health Services: Equality

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure equality of provision of mental health care for adults and children across all regions and constituent parts of the UK.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health is a devolved matter in the United Kingdom. For Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for the organisation and delivery of health and social care services and the protection and promotion of health.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the publication of the most recent data on smear test uptake in the UK.

Steve Brine: The National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme measures coverage rather than smear test uptake rate. Data are provided by NHS Digital and are available at:https://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB30134General practice/clinical commissioning group level coverage is available at:http://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB24229

Disability Aids

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) crutches, (b) walking frames, (c) wheelchairs and (d) similar items are recycled for use by more than one patient.

Caroline Dinenage: Data on the reuse or recycling of such items is not held centrally. Recycling practices are decided locally between the relevant providers and commissioners, though there is a responsibility on National Health Service trusts to make the best use of all resources and items including recycling and reuse of aids where it is safe and cost effective to do so.

Mental Illness: Social Security Benefits

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to increase support for people with mental health conditions over the next two years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to improving mental health provision across England. We are driving an ambitious programme of work under the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, which includes delivering a major expansion of services. This programme includes enhancing liaison psychiatry in accident and emergency (A&E), so that patients presenting at A&E with a mental health crisis will have access to psychiatric liaison to ensure they get the right treatment as quickly as possible. It will also expand crisis resolution and home treatment teams, so that people can expect support to be available as a safe and effective alternative to hospital, and improve perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year, so that women are able to access the right care at the right time and close to home.

Carillion: Insolvency

Dan Carden: What steps he is taking to ensure that work on the new Liverpool Royal Hospital resumes following the liquidation of Carillion.

Stephen Barclay: Carillion is building the new Royal Liverpool Hospital under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. The PFI contract between the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust and the PFI Project Company is still in place, which means that the Company is still contractually obliged to manage the project and find a construction firm or subcontractor who can continue the building work. This is important for the trust and also an incentive for the PFI Project Company to minimise delay. Additionally, the Department and NHS Improvement have been supporting the Trust with contingency planning for this to ensure there is minimal disruption. The Royal Liverpool Hospital scheme is very well advanced. The PFI Project Company is currently in discussions with PwC (on behalf of the official receiver), their lenders and with other service and construction companies to assess how best to continue delivering these contracts.

Breast Cancer: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the new provider of Central and East London breast screening services has taken to ensure that those services will be maintained in their current locations.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the proportion of people invited to breast screening by Central and East London breast screening services who have taken up that invitation in the last 12 months for which data is available.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what performance targets have been set in the new contract for Central and East London breast screening services.

Steve Brine: Neither NHS England nor NHS Improvement has provided information specifically in relation to the locations to be used under the new contract. Data from the Breast Screening Programme, England – 2015/16 (NHS Digital) shows that the proportion of people who took up the invitation to attend breast screening services by Central East London Breast Screening Service (CELBSS) was 61.0%, compared to 64.9% for London and 72.1% nationally. NHS England also advises that provisional data for the first quarter of 2017/18 shows that 3,267 (50.1%) of 6,515 invited by CELBSS have attended. Further information regarding the proportion of people invited to breast screening by Central and East London breast screening services is available on the Public Health England website at the following link: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework/data#page/3/gid/1000049/pat/6/par/E12000007/ati/102/are/E09000002/iid/90362/age/1/sex/1 NHS England advises that the new contract has yet to be finalised, however the Royal Free will be expected to provide a service and perform in line with the national standards for breast screening set out in the national service specification. Barts Health NHS Trust, the current service provider, advises that it has been working closely with the Royal Free to ensure an orderly transition, so that patients continue to receive high quality and timely care under the new arrangements. At the same time, Barts is focussing on keeping staff informed and reassured about their own future.

Incontinence

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that all clinical commissioning groups implement the NHS England’s Excellence in Continence Care guidance.

Steve Brine: NHS England is taking several approaches to ensure clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are following the Excellence in Continence Care Framework, including: arranging for CCGs to have access to teams of expert clinicians, commissioners from areas that have adopted the guidelines and people with experience to review their existing service against the best practice outlined in the guideline and make appropriate improvements; exploring the potential for a mandatory data set to provide transparency about the continence service CCGs are commissioning, via the CCG assurance process which enables NHS England to check how CCGs are meeting the health needs of their population; encouraging CCGs to develop integrated commissioning arrangements with local authorities to ensure improved coordination, experience and use of resources; and ongoing communication and education campaigns to raise awareness about the Framework. An updated version of the NHS England Excellence in Continence Care guidance is being developed and is due to be published in the near future.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Screening

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what duties online sexually transmitted infection testing services have to follow best practice in respect of safeguarding and child protection issues.

Steve Brine: Online sexually transmitted infection services are not offered to under 16s who would be advised to attend their local clinic where a proper safeguarding assessment can be undertaken in person.

NHS: Negligence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average hourly rate paid to lawyers instructed by the NHS in medical negligence claims is.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether lawyers instructed by the NHS to defend claims of medical negligence are paid the same hourly rate whether or not the claim succeeds, as denoted by court award or agreement to pay damages.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that lawyers instructed by the NHS to defend claims of medical negligence do not prolong proceedings to increase their fees.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Resolution is responsible for managing clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service and it contracts with a panel of legal firms. NHS Resolution has supplied the following information on the rates paid under the panel contract. Rates for instruction received before May 2017Inner London hourly rateOuter London hourly rateProvincial hourly rateNominated Partner£194£173£166Other Partner, and/or solicitor 10 years of more Post-Qualified Experience (PQE)£179£164£152Solicitors 5 – 9 years PQE£162£148£145Solicitors Non-Qualified – 4 years PQE£155£144£140Legal executives, paralegals or trainee solicitors£90£83£78 Rates for instruction received since May 2017Inner London hourly rateOuter London hourly rateProvincial hourly rateNominated Partner£200£179£172Other Partner, and/or solicitor 10 years of more PQE£185£170£157Solicitors 5 – 9 years PQE£167£153£150Solicitors NQ – 4 years PQE£160£149£145Legal executives£99£92£86Paralegals or trainee solicitors£93£85£80 A new panel contract was put in place in May 2017. Pre-May 2017 rates continue to apply where the instruction was received before May 2017 and the case is still active. NHS Resolution has advised that Panel Lawyers are paid the same rate whether they win a case or not. Fixed/capped fees are applied on a number of cases in litigation to ensure cases are not prolonged. Performance indicators including time to resolution and legal costs are monitored for all panel firms as part of the contract management arrangements. Defence costs are monitored very carefully on a monthly basis and immediate steps are taken with the relevant firm under the contractual agreement with them to ensure that costs do not escalate. The Department oversees NHS Resolution’s performance through its sponsorship arrangements. This includes formal accountability reviews between senior departmental officials and the leadership of NHS Resolution. General practitioners’ and dentists’ indemnity to cover clinical negligence payments is currently provided privately by Medical Defence Organisations. The Department does not have access to this information regarding primary care and dentistry.

Liothyronine

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the money accrued to the public purse in relation to liothyronine under the (a) the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and (b) the statutory scheme; and when those payments were made.

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to reduce the cost of liothyronine by procuring the drug from foreign suppliers; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The costs of branded medicines are controlled by the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and the statutory scheme for branded medicines. Liothyronine is an unbranded generic medicine. For unbranded generic medicines, the Department encourages competition between suppliers to keep prices down. In primary care, community pharmacies are incentivised to source products at the lowest possible cost and in secondary care, competitive tenders ensure value-for-money to the National Health Service. Liothyronine is currently the subject of an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, which has provisionally found that the single supplier of the product abused its dominant position to overcharge the NHS by millions for liothyronine tablets. A provisional decision does not necessarily lead to an infringement decision. Where companies have breached competition law, the Department will seek damages and invest that money back into the NHS. Medicines legislation requires that only medicines licensed for use in the United Kingdom can be marketed in the UK.

Liothyronine

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of caseloads of consultant endocrinologists as a result of changes to the prescription of liothyronine.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no assessment. It is for local clinical commissioning groups in conjunction with local providers to make decisions on implementing NHS England’s guidance on liothyronine and, as part of their decision making, to determine the resources available to implement any change.

Social Services: Fees and Charges

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department's upcoming consultation on social care will propose specific amounts for a cap on the amount someone would have to pay towards their own care.

Caroline Dinenage: An ageing society means that we need to reach a longer-term sustainable settlement for social care. This is why the Government has committed to publishing a Green Paper by summer 2018 setting out its proposals for reform. This will include consulting on a limit on the care costs that individuals face.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s upcoming consultation on social care will include a review of prices charged by care homes to people funding their own care.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has committed to publishing a Green Paper by summer 2018 setting out its proposals for reform of the social care system. While the fees charged to a self-funder is a contractual arrangement between self-funding residents and care homes, we are also considering recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority who highlighted the need for care home providers to be more transparent about their prices.

HM Treasury

Productivity: Yorkshire and the Humber

Alex Sobel: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to boost regional productivity in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Robert Jenrick: As set out in the Autumn Budget 2017 and the Industrial Strategy White Paper, the Government will drive productivity in every region of the UK by investing in infrastructure, developing skills, and supporting business. To date, the Yorkshire and Humber region has received more than £1.3 billion from the Local Growth Fund. The Autumn Budget announced a number of further measures which will benefit the region: an £840 million Transforming Cities Fund, which cities such as Leeds and Bradford will be able to bid into for funding to invest in productivity improving transport projects; up to £35 million to trial cutting-edge technology across the rail network, including along the Trans-Pennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York; and two new Tech Nation Hubs in Leeds and Sheffield, linking local tech businesses into a UK-wide network of hubs.

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Ged Killen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will consider the merits of introducing rules to govern the provision of free to use cash machines (a) within a given geographic area and (b) on the basis of per head of population.

David Linden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of free-to-use ATMs in Scotland whose future is under threat as a result of (a) RBS bank branch closures and (b) LINK’s imminent decision on the ATM interchange fee.

David Linden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to undertake any impact assessments of LINK’s upcoming decision on the ATM interchange fee on communities in Scotland.

John Glen: The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with industry, including LINK, to ensure that this access is maintained. The Government has not made any formal assessment of the potential effect of LINK’s proposals to change the interchange fee rate on consumers or small businesses, including in Scotland. However, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which Government set up as an independent regulator in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users, is monitoring developments within ATM provision, and is conducting ongoing work on the impact that changes may have. The PSR has recently published a summary of their work to date, which can be found at https://www.psr.org.uk/psr-focus/the-UK-ATM-network. The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should any of the firms it regulates behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives. LINK has assured the Government and the PSR that industry is committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, and to ensuring that the present geographical spread of ATMs is maintained. LINK intends to bolster its Financial Inclusion Programme, which ensures the provision of ATMs in areas of deprivation, where demand would not otherwise make one viable, and has also committed to protecting all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM.

Debts

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of household debt in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last eight years.

John Glen: In the UK as a whole, household debt-to-income has fallen from 152% at the start of 2010 to 138% in Q3 2017. This remains significantly below its pre-crisis peak of 160% in Q1 2008. On the latest available data, median household non-mortgage debt in Wales has been the lowest of any British nation between 2006 and 2014.

Industry: Environment Protection

Mary Creagh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2018 to Question 122491, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of European Investment Bank funding to the UK's green industry.

Robert Jenrick: As the Chancellor set out in his 2017 Mansion House speech, the EIB has been an important source of finance for infrastructure investment in the UK. The EIB invests across a range of sectors including energy, transport, housing, education, water and sewerage. For the green industry, the EIBs largest and most frequent loans over the last decade have been in the field of renewable energy generation, more specifically; offshore wind farms and offshore transmission networks (through OFGEMs offshore transmission network tendering process). From 2006-2016 the EIB lent €15.69bn to the UK energy sector. Of this, roughly a quarter was to projects related to offshore wind generation. The EIB has also lent to other types of environmentally focussed projects such as the rollout of Smart Meters and the Thames Tideway Tunnel. A complete database of all EIB projects and loan amounts can be found at the link below; http://www.eib.org/projects/loan/list/?region=1&country=GB

Child Care Vouchers

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review his policy on the closure of the childcare vouchers scheme.

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of retaining childcare vouchers alongside the tax-free childcare scheme.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government is investing a record amount on childcare support – around £6 billion per annum in 2019/2020. It’s important that that support is properly targeted. Whereas currently around 600,000 families are in receipt of childcare vouchers, we estimate that 1.5 million families with childcare costs will be eligible for TFC. Tax-Free Childcare is fairer and better targeted than the voucher scheme, as it covers a percentage of all childcare costs meaning parents who work longer hours and need more childcare are not disadvantaged. TFC does not depend on your employer offering the scheme – one of the reasons why it’s fairer. Parents in receipt of childcare vouchers will be able to continue to use vouchers when the scheme closes to new entrants in April 2018, whilst they work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them.

Treasury: Drinking Water

Tim Farron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.

Robert Jenrick: The department’s accounting system does not separately identify bottled water spend. This spend falls under the refreshments category and such spending is spread across several account codes.

First Time Buyers: Stamp Duties

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of first-time buyers who purchased properties between 22 November 2017 and 1 January 2018 who paid no Stamp Duty in (a) England and Wales, (b) the South West, (c) South Gloucestershire local authority area and (d) Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency.

Mel Stride: The number of purchases benefitting from the Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for first-time buyers between 22 November 2017 and 1 January 2018 was estimated to be 16,000. This relief means that over 80% of first-time buyer purchases do not pay SDLT. Estimates for regional, local authority and constituency level are not yet available. Statistics on the number of first-time buyers claiming the relief are due to be published in the Quarterly Stamp Duty Statistics on 26 April 2018.

Child Care Vouchers: Barnsley East

Stephanie Peacock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claimants of childcare vouchers there were in Barnsley East constituency in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in Barnsley East constituency who will take up the tax-free childcare service.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 25 January 2017 to the Honourable Member for Hull North (123405).

Treasury: Public Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on (a) art, (b) wine and (c) hospitality in each of the last seven financial years for which figures are available.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury does not own, pay for or insure any art in the building it occupies at 1 Horse Guard’s Road. Art that is displayed throughout the building is rented from the Government Art Collection at nil cost. Wine is not purchased independently but included within catering expenditure on hospitality. It is not possible to identify the cost of wine within amounts paid and accrued for hospitality catering. The breakdown of the core department’s hospitality costs for the last seven years can be found in the table below. Financial yearHospitality2011-12£14,4532012-13£6,2242013-14£12,5682014-15£8,9942015-16£24,1332016-17£10,0232017-18*£3,702 *the 2017-18 costs reflect amounts paid and accrued in the financial year to date.

Treasury: Directors

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the lead non-executive director and other non-executive director board members are in his Department.

Robert Jenrick: The non-executive director board members are: Dame Amelia Fawcett (interim Lead Non-Executive)Richard MeddingsTim Score The department is currently recruiting for 3 Non-Executive Directors, and a lead non-executive will be appointed, drawn from the existing and new non-executive members of the board.

Public Sector: Pensions

Bambos Charalambous: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2017 to Question 116245, when his Department plans to complete its consideration of the implications of the Walker v. Innospec Limited judgment for public service schemes.

Elizabeth Truss: My department will notify the relevant departments of the implications of the Court’s judgment shortly. The ministers responsible for each of the public service pension schemes will then take steps to implement any necessary changes, including consultation with their stakeholders.

Children: Day Care

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of closing Childcare Vouchers on families that cannot afford to spend £8000 per child on childcare each year.

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many parents with children over the age of 11 who previously claimed childcare vouchers will not receive support for childcare after the closure of that scheme.

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support engagement between employers and employees on facilitating childcare after the closure of the childcare vouchers scheme.

Elizabeth Truss: We estimate that 1.5 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare, and have childcare costs. We estimate that there are currently 600,000 families using childcare vouchers.Those parents, including those with children aged over 11, will be able to continue to receive vouchers when the scheme closes to new entrants in April 2018, whilst they work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them. Tax-Free Childcare provides a 25% top-up on money paid into an online account, which parents can use to pay their childcare provider. Parents can receive up to £2,000 per child, per year in Government top-up and there is no lower limit on deposits.The introduction of Tax-Free Childcare is an opportunity for all employers to engage with working parents, not just the minority who offer childcare vouchers. HMRC are working with employers so that they understand and can advise their employees about the benefits of Tax-Free Childcare.

Cash Dispensing: Glasgow

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential effect of on the number of free-to-use ATMs in Glasgow operated by independent ATM operators as a result of LINK’s upcoming decision on the ATM interchange fee.

John Glen: The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. Government will continue to engage with industry to ensure that widespread free access is maintained. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which Government set up as an independent regulator in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users, is monitoring developments within ATM provision, and is conducting ongoing work on the impact that changes may have. The PSR has recently published a summary of their work to date, which can be found at https://www.psr.org.uk/psr-focus/the-UK-ATM-network. The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should any of the firms it regulates behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives. LINK, the main scheme behind the UK’s ATM network, has assured us and the PSR that industry is committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, and to ensuring that the present geographical spread of ATMs is maintained. LINK intends to bolster its Financial Inclusion Programme, which ensures the provision of ATMs in areas of deprivation, where demand would not otherwise make one viable, and has also committed to protecting all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM.

Air Passenger Duty

Jo Stevens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to undertake a review of air passenger duty.

Robert Jenrick: The Chancellor keeps all taxes under continuous review, including air passenger duty.

Children: Day Care

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department publishes for single parents seeking to claim under the tax-free childcare scheme.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 January 2018, HCWS 401, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of families registering for tax-free childcare.

Elizabeth Truss: The application process and eligibility criteria for Tax-Free Childcare are the same for single parents as they are for households with more than one parent. HM Revenue & Customs has published eligibility guidance for Tax-Free Childcare which is regularly updated. The guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs. In response to the question regarding steps HMRC is taking to increase the take-up of Tax-Free Childcare, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 29 January 2018 (124790).

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120802, on children:day care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential financial benefits to foster parents of making tax-free childcare available for fostered children.

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120803, on children: day care, what the cost to the public purse of sending those text messages was; and what proportion of the people who received a text message successfully reapplied for an eligibility code.

Elizabeth Truss: The text messages that were sent to parents in December 2017 cost approximately £1,400. These messages were part of wider communications to encourage parents to apply, or reconfirm their eligibility for 30 hours free childcare before the start of the spring term. Over 326,000 30 hours codes were issued for the spring term. This Government is investing more in childcare than ever before. Tax-Free Childcare is one part of that childcare support and is aimed at working parents. Foster carers already receive funding for the care of their foster child from local authorities. Local authorities are best placed to individually assess what is in the best interests of fostered children. Where they judge that it is in the best interests of a fostered child, local authorities can fund childcare on a discretionary basis.

Prime Minister

Domestic Visits: Northern Ireland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Prime Minister, how many official visits she has made to Northern Ireland since her appointment as Prime Minister.

Mrs Theresa May: I visit all parts of the United Kingdom regularly. Details of my visits within the United Kingdom are published on the gov.uk website.

Michelle O'Neill

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Prime Minister, how many times she has spoken to Michelle O'Neill since June 2017.

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Prime Minister, how many times she has (a) met and (b) spoken to Mrs Arlene Foster since June 2017.

Mrs Theresa May: Details of my Official meetings are in the public domain and can be found on the gov.uk website.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support people who are affected by the gap between receiving existing benefit payments and receiving their first instalment of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: In order to manage this transition, claimants migrating from legacy benefits will be offered a Universal Credit Benefit Transfer Advance.This is a one-off recoverable advance of 100 per cent of a claimant’s expected Universal Credit entitlement. Claimants are not required to demonstrate financial need in order to receive the advance and it is recovered in equal instalments, interest-free, over a period of up to twelve months through deductions in the claimant’s monthly award. Exceptionally, this period can also be extended by up to three months.From April 2018, all claimants already receiving Housing Benefit will also receive two weeks worth of additional Housing Benefit payments at the beginning of their Universal Credit claim. This is in addition to their Universal Credit support for housing costs.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for claimants calling the universal credit helpline.

Alok Sharma: Internal management information data indicates that between April and December 2017, the average speed of answer across all Universal Credit helplines was 4 minutes and 45 seconds. The Department operates a virtual telephony platform, which enables it to manage fluctuating call demands by increasing or decreasing the number of agents it uses to handle calls. Each week, the Department matches the required capacity and resources to its telephony forecast to ensure it meets demand and delivers a good service across all channels. This capacity is designed to scale up in line with new claims as the service expands further this year.

Department for Work and Pensions: Correspondence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2017 to Question 119422, what service standard is in place for correspondence from members of the public to the Disability Confident policy team.

Sarah Newton: We aim to respond to issues raised with the Disability Confident policy team within 20 working days.

Jobcentres: Languages

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of job centre staff who speak a second language fluently.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not hold information relating to second languages spoken by Jobcentre Staff.

New Enterprise Allowance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have accessed the New Enterprise Allowance since its introduction.

Alok Sharma: The latest statistics for New Enterprise Allowance can be viewed by following the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working#new-enterprise-allowance

Universal Credit: Correspondence

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, including errors and duplicates, what the average number of notices is that his Department has sent to local authorities for each person transferring from housing benefit to universal credit; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost of sending such notices to local authorities.

Alok Sharma: ‘Housing Benefit Stop Notice’ is an automated system that electronically sends these notices to the Local Authorities. Notices are sent via this process at nil cost. The number of notices sent is recorded in each case, but not in a form that can be aggregated across all cases to provide the information requested.

Poverty: Children

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to welfare provision on the number of children living in poverty in Coventry South constituency.

Kit Malthouse: National statistics on the number of children in relative low income are set out in the annual "Households Below Average Income" publication. The number and proportion of children in relative low income is not available at local authority or constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.Latest 3-year estimates for the West Midlands of the proportion and number of children in low income are available in Table 4.16ts and Table 4.17ts in the file “4_children_timeseries_risk” from this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/599136/hbai-2015-2016-supporting-ods-files.zipImpact Assessments of policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act of 2016 were published in 2015. Evidence shows work is the best route out of poverty; nearly three-quarters of children from workless families moved out of poverty when their parents entered into full-time work. Children in workless households are five time more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults were working. Welfare reforms are designed to incentivise parents to make the choice to move into and progress in work.This Government is committed to action that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage with policies that incentivise employment as the best route out of poverty. In Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, we set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s long-term outcomes. This includes nine national indicators to track progress in tackling the disadvantages that affect families and children. Four of these measures are set out in primary legislation which places a duty on the Government report annually to Parliament on the parental worklessness and educational attainment indicators. Data on the non-statutory indicators will also be published each year.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the total value of unclaimed benefits in each of the last seven years.

Kit Malthouse: The Department publishes ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up’ statistics annually. The latest statistics, which cover 2009/10 to 2015/16, are published here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-201516 These statistics provide estimates of take-up, by caseload and expenditure, of the following income-related benefits only (other benefits are available but no take-up estimates are calculated):Pension CreditHousing BenefitIncome Support and Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based) They also provide the total and average amounts of benefit claimed and unclaimed for each of these benefits. Estimates for 2010/11 and 2011/12 were not produced; the estimates for 2016/17 will be published in May/June this year.

Poverty: Children

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes in welfare provision on the number of children living in poverty in the Borough of Rochdale.

Kit Malthouse: National statistics on the number of children in relative low income are set out in the annual "Households Below Average Income" publication. The number and proportion of children in relative low income is not available at local authority or constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.Latest 3-year estimates for the North West of the proportion and number of children in low income are available in Table 4.16ts and Table 4.17ts in the file “4_children_timeseries_risk” from this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/599136/hbai-2015-2016-supporting-ods-files.zipImpact Assessments of policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act of 2016 were published in 2015. Evidence shows work is the best route out of poverty; nearly three-quarters of children from workless families moved out of poverty when their parents entered into full-time work. Children in workless households are five time more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults were working. Welfare reforms are designed to incentivise parents to make the choice to move into and progress in work.This Government is committed to action that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage with policies that incentivise employment as the best route out of poverty. In Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, we set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s long-term outcomes. This includes nine national indicators to track progress in tackling the disadvantages that affect families and children. Four of these measures are set out in primary legislation which places a duty on the Government report annually to Parliament on the parental worklessness and educational attainment indicators. Data on the non-statutory indicators will also be published each year.

Home Office

Police: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on hire cars by each constabulary in the North West in 2016 and 2017; and what steps are being taken to reduce expenditure on such cars.

Mr Nick  Hurd: The Home Office does not hold this information. It is for elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how their force’s resources are deployed and how best to manage their communications with the public.

Home Office: Chief Scientific Adviser

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings she had with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between October and December 2017.

Amber Rudd: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Business: Procurement

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that businesses who are required to provide statements on their supply chains (a) provide such a statement and (b) complete their statements to a sufficient standard; and what steps her Department is taking to monitor the performance of businesses in providing those statements.

Victoria Atkins: As a result of the world-leading provisions in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we have seen thousands of transparency statements published and businesses are now more focused on this issue than ever before. The legislation was designed to harness pressure from civil society, consumers and investors rather than set up a burdensome system of Government monitoring. We are pleased that civil society organisations are using company statements to hold businesses to account, including contacting businesses that have not yet published statements.The Government has strengthened guidance for businesses and recently wrote to over 10,000 businesses that may be required to publish statements reminding them of their obligations and providing useful resources. We expect this activity will further increase the number and quality of statements published.In October the Government also launched a new ‘Business Against Slavery Forum’ which will establish a new partnership between Government and business to accelerate progress in tackling modern slavery. It will focus on sharing best practice and building new initiatives to tackle modern slavery, including improving business engagement with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for her Department to implement improvements to the National Referral Mechanism.

Victoria Atkins: Improvements to the National Referral Mechanism were announced in October 2017. The reforms cover 16 work streams some of which will be implemented more quickly than others. A number of reform measures are subject to commercial tender for provision of services. The detailed implementation plans for each work stream are being developed, which will identify the likely timescales.

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will set a target for the time taken for cases of modern slavery to be processed under the National Referral Mechanism.

Victoria Atkins: The time taken to process National Referral Mechanism (NRM) cases varies by complexity. As part of the ongoing reform of the NRM, changes will be made to ensure a quicker, more certain decision making process, that victims have confidence in.

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals have been made under the National Referral Mechanism by police forces in England and Wales by police force in each month since the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Victoria Atkins: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office. However, the October 2017 report from the police inspectorate (HMICRFS) on the police response to modern slavery includes data on NRM referrals made by police forces by year.This report can be accessed at the following link:www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/stolen-freedom-the-policing-response-to-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking.pdfThe National Crime Agency also regularly publishes statistics relating to the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the National Referral Mechanism, broken down by police force area. These can be found here: www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to put in place data sharing arrangements between all parties involved in tackling modern slavery.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has a number of agreements with partner agencies to enable data to be shared for the purposes of tackling modern slavery. We are considering the impact of the proposed Data Protection Bill in relation to these agreements. We are exploring options to put in place improved data sharing arrangements with international partners to tackle modern slavery up stream.

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the average waiting time for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking to access English courses provided by the Salvation Army as part of the victim care contract.

Victoria Atkins: The Victim Care Contract for adult victims of modern slavery, delivered for the Government by The Salvation Army does not include the provision of English courses and therefore the Home Office does not have data on average waiting times for victims to access classes. Through the Victim Care Contract, victims of modern slavery receive accommodation, subsistence, access to mental, physical and dental health services, and signposting to legal support.Recently announced reforms to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) will mean that confirmed victims have access to this support for a minimum of 90 days, and when victims leave central-government funded support they will have access to drop-in services for a further 6 months

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of subcontractors of the modern slavery victim care contract use the Human Trafficking Foundation Care Standards.

Victoria Atkins: As part of the recently announced package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), Government committed to adopting the Trafficking Survivor Care Standards, drafted by the Human Trafficking Foundation with contributions from a range of non-governmental organisations, including a number of subcontractors of the Victims Care Contact.We are currently working with a group of key stakeholders, including subcontractors of the Victim Care Contract, to update the standards and design a compliance regime. The standards will then be incorporated into future care contracts for adult victims of modern slavery. In the meantime, we will work with all subcontractors to ensure they are meeting the minimum standards.

Slavery

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have a dedicated modern slavery taskforce.

Victoria Atkins: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office. Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, in line with the local priorities set by their Police and Crime Commissioner.

Hezbollah

Sammy  Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to proscribe the political wing of Hezbollah in the UK.

Mr Ben Wallace: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for East Renfrewshire on 28 June 2017 (UIN 556).

Tech City UK: Skilled Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 1 visas have been approved for people working at Tech City for people of each gender; from what country of origin those visas have been approved; and for the purposes of working in which regions of the UK have these visas been approved.

Caroline  Nokes: Tech City UK is a designated competent body who consider and endorse applications from talented individuals in the digital technology sector applying under the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent scheme. The individuals granted an endorsement do not take up employment with Tech City UKTransparency data on the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Scheme is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigrationThe latest data was published on the 30 November 2017, and provides all published data relating to Tech City UK.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many meetings (a) she and (b) her predecessor had with the Government Chief Scientific Adviser between October and December 2017.

Mr Shailesh Vara: There have been no meetings with the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between October 2017 and December 2017.

Northern Ireland Office: Presidents Club

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether any Ministers in her Department attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educational Trust in an official capacity.

Mr Shailesh Vara: No Ministers attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educational Trust.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Tickets: Touting

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when s105 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 is planned to come into force.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when s106 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 is planned to come into force.

Margot James: We are expecting to bring foward secondary legislation needed to enact this provision later this year.

Charities: Fraud

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to protect charities and charitable trusts from fraud.

Tracey Crouch: The Commission is responsible for overseeing a program of counter-fraud activities, aimed at both raising awareness of fraud risks to charities and improving their resilience to fraud. The purpose of this work it to ensure charities have the knowledge and tools to prevent fraud from happening in their organisations in the first place. In addition to publishing detailed guidance for charities, the Commission facilitates the ‘charities against fraud’ coalition, a cross-sector group of nearly 40 stakeholders. The Commission has jointly run two fraud awareness weeks with the Fraud Advisory Panel in 2016 and 2017, which included a national conference on the issue. In 2017 the Commission helped to deliver the first ever national charity fraud awards to help raise awareness of good practice in this area.

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to ensure that broadband provision in Northern Ireland is equal to that in the rest of the UK.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the potential merits of a UK-wide broadband strategy in the absence of a Northern Ireland executive.

Margot James: I have every intention of working with my Rt Hon friend the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in her new role to make sure the people and businesses of Northern Ireland benefit from the delivery of current UK Government broadband, and I know this is an issue where she retains a strong interest. As a result of the UK Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme, over 85% of premises in Northern Ireland now have access to superfast broadband. This is expected to increase to 87% by the end of June 2018. The UK Government has allocated a further £150 million to support broadband roll out as part of the June 2017 funding support package for Northern Ireland.Local Bodies in Northern Ireland can also bid for funding from the Local Full Fibre Network Programme, which is designed to support the roll out of full fibre connectivity in locations across the UK, via our £190 million Challenge Fund launched in November 2017. For any premises that do not have access to superfast broadband, we are introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation to ensure everyone has access to high-speed broadband by 2020. I will also encourage the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to engage with our Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review.

Tourism: Yorkshire and the Humber

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of his Department's budget was spent on increasing the number of visitors to Yorkshire in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Michael Ellis: VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, which they do through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. One of the current projects in the £40m Discover England Fund supports attracting visitors to the Yorkshire area: the adrenaline-fuelled city breaks scheme, led by Marketing Sheffield received £500, 000. VisitBritain ran a £500,000 marketing campaign to support the Tour de Yorkshire in 2016/17. Yorkshire will also host the Road World Cycling Championships in 2019 which DCMS is supporting with funding for event delivery, through UKSport.

Arts: Yorkshire and the Humber

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support her Department provides to support the creative industries in (a) Kirklees and  (b) Yorkshire.

Margot James: Government recognises the role played by creative businesses, including media, right across the UK in local economic growth. Government supports this growth via tax credits, regional development programmes, relocation of Arms Length Bodies associated with the sector, rebasing of public sector broadcasters and putting ‘place’ at the heart of the Industrial Strategy. The department does not collect data on creative industries investment on a region-by-region basis. DCMS funds Arms Length Bodies that have regional objective and invest in arts and culture, which develop future skills and talent for the Creative Industries. According to Arts Council England and British Film Institute data, Kirklees has received grant-in-aid and lottery support of almost £17m, since 2012. Yorkshire and the Humber received over £396m in the same period. Employment in Yorkshire and the Humber’s film and TV industries increased by 40 per cent in 2016, outstripping every other UK region. A driver of this growth is Screen Yorkshire’s ‘Yorkshire Content Fund’, a public-private investment fund for the TV, film, video games and digital sectors, The fund is open to producers either based in Yorkshire or wishing to film or establish a base in the region. Screen Yorkshire has worked extensively with the British Film Institute and received regional support for its Screen Hub, which is also supported by 14 local partners, including 8 local authorities and 6 universities.

Borders: Personal Records

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and (b) the European Commission on ensuring the free movement of data between the UK and EU nations after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: Ministers have had regular discussions with their colleagues across the government, and with their EU counterparts on this issue. In those discussions, we have emphasised the Government’s position that it is essential that we agree a UK-EU model for protecting and exchanging personal data which allows free flows of data to continue between the EU and UK. A future agreement could provide for ongoing regulatory cooperation and certainty for businesses and other stakeholders. Such a model should reflect the unprecedented alignment between British and European law and recognise the high data protection standards that will be in place at the point of exit.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to prioritise access to broadband in rural areas to enable the advancement of telecare .

Margot James: We have long supported improved rural broadband connectivity through a range of actions, ensuring innovations such as telecare can be deployed to those that need it. The Government is currently investing £1.7 billion of public money in superfast broadband coverage across the UK, offering speeds of over 24Mbps. The BDUK Superfast Programme reached its target of 95% coverage of the UK by the end of 2017, and is continuing to support delivery with at least a further 2% coverage likely to be achieved. These actions have made a substantial contribution to connectivity improvements in rural areas. My department is working with Defra to continue to look for new ways to ensure people in rural areas get the connectivity they need. This includes looking at how DEFRA's Rural Development Programme funding can bolster BDUK's superfast rollout programme. We have also launched a £190 million Challenge Fund to support Local Full Fibre Networks across the UK.Thinking further ahead, we are assessing what market models can best support broadband infrastructure investment in different areas of the UK, including hard-to-reach rural areas. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review will report back in the summer on the options available to government to ensure digital connectivity is seamless, reliable, and widely available. However, to ensure no one is left behind, we are also introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation so that by 2020 everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to request high speed broadband. Connectivity at these speeds allows for future demands of improved telemedicine services, including accessing GPs through video-conferencing.

Arts

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to publish the creative industries sector deal before 1 March 2018.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy on the progress of the creative industries sector deal.

Margot James: We are committed to agreeing and publishing sector deals as soon as both sides are content to do so. DCMS continue to work closely with BEIS and the Creative Industries to deliver an ambitious deal to increase growth and productivity.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energu and Industrial Strategy: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between October and December 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Between 1st October 2017 and 31st December 2017 the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has met with: (a) my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for BEIS nine times in person.

Fuel Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of people his Department estimates to have lived in fuel poverty in each parliamentary constituency in each year for which data is available.

Claire Perry: Estimates on the number and proportion of households in fuel poverty in each parliamentary constituency are available for 2011-2015 data. These can be found at the following links: Year Link2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-20172014 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2014-sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-low-income-high-costs-indicator2013 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2013-sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-low-income-high-costs-indicator2012 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-low-income-high-costs-indicator2011 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2011-sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-low-income-high-costs-indicator

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on (a) art, (b) wine and (c) hospitality in each of the last seven financial years for which figures are available.

Richard Harrington: The Department does not purchase art. Any works of art held by the Department are loaned from the Government Art Collection. The Department’s expenses policy does not allow staff to claim for the cost of alcohol of any kind. Wine is very occasionally provided at events for external stakeholders but the cost of beverages is not recorded separately within the cost of catering and hospitality. Expenditure on catering and hospitality, covering the financial years since the Department was formed, is shown in the table below. Category 2016/17 (audited)  (August 2016 – March 2017)2017/18 (unaudited) (April 2017 – December 2017)Catering and Hospitality£53,761£48,596

Technology and Innovation Centres

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how catapult networks will support the delivery of the Industrial Strategy.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Catapult network exists to transform the UK’s capability for innovation in emerging technologies, promoting commercialisation and so future economic growth. The network forms a key part of the innovation ecosystem for delivering the Industrial Strategy. We are using the recent review of the network to improve the strategies, governance and performance management of the Catapults to maximise their impact.

Energy: Prices

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2018 to Question 122980, what assessment his Department has made of the cost that is likely be incurred by energy companies in challenging Ofgem’s decision on the setting of the cap by way of judicial review in comparison with the cost that is incurred by energy companies in appealing to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



The draft Bill would place specific objectives on Ofgem to have regard to a number of factors when setting the price cap, including the need to ensure that energy suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance their activities. The Bill also provides for Ofgem to consult on the setting of the cap. The Government is not in a position to assess or comment on the likely costs that might be incurred by third parties in relation to hypothetical legal challenges.

Energy: Prices

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2018 to Question 122977, which countries that regulate retail energy prices were considered by his Department prior to publishing the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



A number of countries where there were or had been price interventions in the energy sector have been looked at, including Canada, USA, Spain and New Zealand. However, their markets were not previously liberalised, or had only recently been liberalised, which is very different to the situation in Great Britain.

Galileo System

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government is giving to UK companies involved with the Galileo project who already have to deicide where they will locate their supply chains after March 2019.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what advice his Department has given to UK companies involved in the Galileo Project who are already having to decide where they will locate their supply chains after March 2019.

Mr Sam Gyimah: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 16 January 2018 to Question 122184. The principle set out in the Joint Report issued by the UK and EU negotiating teams on 8 December was that UK entities would be able to continue to participate in all EU programmes financed by the current Multiannual Financial Framework which ends in 2020. There will be further discussions on the individual programmes during Phase 2 of the negotiations. My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I continue to engage regularly with the UK space sector companies involved in the Galileo programme.

Galileo System

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he has had and with which companies on investment uncertainties in respect of the Galileo project after March 2019.

Mr Sam Gyimah: My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State, my predecessor (Jo Johnson) as Minister for Space, and the UK Space Agency have engaged with many UK space companies and the UK space trade association to discuss issues relating to business and space, including the EU Galileo Programme. These views are informing Government’s approach to the ongoing EU exit negotiations.

European Space Agency

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government is providing to UK companies that have already been excluded from bidding for projects from the European Space Agency on the basis that the UK is leaving the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The European Space Agency (ESA) is independent of the European Union. Therefore our support for the European Space Agency is largely unaffected by the decision to leave the European Union. Indeed we made subscriptions of €1.4 bn at the ESA Ministerial meeting in Lucerne in December 2016 which is allowing UK companies to bid for ESA grants and contracts.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the deadline for installing SMETS1 meters to October 2018 has been extended; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: We have extended the SMETS1 end-date by twelve weeks to give energy suppliers more time to complete their trialling of the new SMETS2 meters to ensure a good consumer experience from the outset Energy suppliers have made considerable progress in testing the new smart meters. These are already being installed by some suppliers and we expect others to follow suit shortly as they ramp up the rollout of SMETS2 meters. Until then, this decision will enable consumers to continue to benefit from SMETS1 meters, which are helping people save energy and money through accurate bills and near real time feedback on energy use.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many smart meters have been installed as part of the smart meters roll-out programme.

Claire Perry: As of the 30 September 2017, 8.6 million smart and advanced meters were operating across homes and businesses in Great Britain. Smart meter statistics are available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics

Carbon Emissions: Rural Areas

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make funding available for the delivery of the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy to homes and businesses (a) off and (b) on the gas grid in rural areas.

Claire Perry: Funding for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) of £4.5 billion has been agreed to support low carbon heat technologies in homes and businesses, on and off the gas grid, between 2016 and 2021. Over the scheme lifetime, we expect payments to be around £23bn. . Beyond the RHI, our ambition is to help homes off the gas grid to start to move to cleaner heating options during the 2020s. We will work with consumers as we develop policy, starting with new build, and will consult further on policy options during 2018.  A key focus of our policy development will be the cost difference between low and high carbon technologies. We are investing £10 million in an innovation challenge fund to support low carbon heating systems, which will help drive down costs.  Alongside Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments, policies such as the Warm Home Discount and Energy Company Obligation deliver vital support to millions of low income and vulnerable homes each year with heating and insulation measures as well as direct reductions in their energy bills. As set out in the Autumn Statement, a domestic supplier obligation with a value of £640m, will continue to be in place until 2022.

Members: Correspondence

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to the letter of the First Minister of Wales of 6 December 2017 on additional financial support for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

Claire Perry: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has responded to the First Minister of Wales’ letter.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, what the timescale is for the completion of the Government’s review into Local Enterprise Partnerships.

Andrew Griffiths: Government is leading a review to reflect our ambition to strengthen Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). This will enable them to prioritise investment in order to bring a strong business voice to local decision-making to drive sustainable private sector-led growth and job creation. This is testament to our belief that business and civic leaders working together can help business to prosper across the country. The review is ongoing and we are currently taking views on how LEPs can support businesses deliver an effective and vibrant economy. We intend to conclude the review in the coming months.

Small Businesses: Productivity

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2017 to Question 120177, on Small Businesses: Productivity, what the Department’s programme of engagement will consist of.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2017 to Question 120177, on Small Businesses: Productivity, what representations the Department has received from businesses and business organisations in the North East.

Andrew Griffiths: I would refer to our response to questions 120177 and 120170 and would restate that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly engages with the major business representative organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce, on a wide range of issues.We are already engaging directly with private and public sector business on a variety of issues, through a series of regional roundtables. This involves businesses around England and including most recently, Stockton on Tees in the North East.The review of productivity will focus on what actions could be most effective in improving productivity and growth of SMEs. We will announce the policies we intend to take forward, following this review, in autumn 2018.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of reforming the Warm Home Discount so that it more effectively target supports to disabled people who are experiencing high energy costs.

Claire Perry: Some disabled people are able to receive the Warm Home Discount currently if they are in receipt of qualifying benefits or if they meet the criteria determined by their energy supplier. Government will be consulting shortly on changes to the Warm Home Discount for 2018/19. We will also be consulting soon on the Energy Company Obligation proposing reforms to focus the whole scheme on low income and vulnerable households.

GKN

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the potential takeover of GKN on the UK's automotive and aerospace industries.

Andrew Griffiths: This is a commercial matter for the companies involved, however the Government is closely monitoring the situation. If necessary, the Government can intervene in takeovers on public interest grounds, covering national security, financial stability or media plurality.

GKN: Melrose

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he was made aware of the attempted takeover of GKN by Melrose; and whether he has met with any of the parties involved.

Andrew Griffiths: GKN announced on 12 January that it had been approached by Melrose. Since then I have spoken on an impartial basis to both companies, and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

GKN: Melrose

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK economy of the potential takeover of GKN by Melrose.

Andrew Griffiths: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave him today to Question 125100.

Energy: Prices

Neil Parish: What steps he is taking to tackle rising energy prices.

Claire Perry: We are bringing forward the Price Cap Bill, an intelligent intervention to protect consumers. Ofgem is already capping tariffs for 1 million households this year, and consulting on protection for another 2 million next winter. This is in addition to the 4 million households protected under the pre-pay cap. That is not all, smart meter rollout, focusing of ECO money on fuel poor households and working with Citizens Advice and the Energy Saving Trust to get people switched to better deals. All this will help keep bills down for households.

GKN: Melrose

Hugh Gaffney: What representations he has received on the attempted takeover of GKN by Melrose.

Greg Clark: This is a commercial matter for the companies involved. I have spoken to the Chief Executives of GKN and Melrose to understand their intentions, and will continue to monitor the situation closely. The Government can intervene in mergers on certain public interest grounds concerning national security, financial stability or media plurality.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 121091, what guidance his Department has issued to the Money Advice Service on the promotion of the availability of Council Tax Relief within the help with regular bills section of that Service's Money Manager; and if he will make a statement.

Rishi Sunak: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not issued guidance on promoting council tax reduction specifically to the Money Advice Service. However, we have issued guidance on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears to local authorities advising them to publicise details of where to go for help and advice. This includes signposting residents to free to use debt advisers. A copy of the guidance is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdf.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ministerial Powers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many ministerial directions were issued to his Department in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Jake Berry: There have been no ministerial directions issued to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government or its predecessor Departments in 2015, 2016 or 2017.

Landlords

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether tenants will be able to access the database of rogue landlords and property agents due to be published in April 2018.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Holding answer received on 19 January 2018



The national rogue landlord database will be a new tool to help local housing authorities with their housing standards enforcement work. It is part of a package of measures introduced by the Government under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, including new powers to ban landlords and to issue civil penalties for housing offences of up to £30,000.The Act makes clear that information held on the database may not be published unless it is anonymised and the database will not be made public. Local housing authorities may wish to consider locally publicising successful banning orders they obtain. Once launched, we will keep under review the operation of the database and its use by local housing authorities to tackle rogue landlords

Housing: Rural Areas

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that infrastructure improvements are made in rural areas before new housing development is permitted.

Dominic Raab: The Government's National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local authorities should plan for the mix of housing and supporting infrastructure they need through the Local Plan process. Planning decisions are taken in accordance with the Local Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.   Powers also exist to ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place to support new housing development. A local planning authority is able to seek a section 106 planning obligation as a requirement of a planning permission. Such obligations are used to mitigate the impact of a development to make it acceptable in planning terms. They might, for example, require the provision of a new or improved road or school. They can also be used to specify when infrastructure should be delivered, so that development is sequenced appropriately.   Local authorities are also able to adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This is a set charge on most development to help fund the infrastructure needed to address the cumulative impact of development across the wider area. CIL funds can be used to provide and maintain infrastructure.

Antisemitism

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has sought the input of the Haredi community on tackling anti-Semitism; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: As Minister for Faith, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth has discussed the issue of antisemitism with the Charedi community and has also visited a number of organisations providing services to the Charedi community.In addition officials meet regularly with representatives of the Charedi community to discuss antisemitism and other concerns.The department also funds through True Vision the police online reporting portal work to encourage the Charedi community to report antisemitism and to provide support during the court process to victims.

Councillors: Training

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Local Government Association on training for councillors.

Rishi Sunak: The Department works closely with the Local Government Association (LGA) on a host of issues and through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), provides £21 million of funding to the LGA to deliver a number of activities. Included in this is training and development offers for councillors, for example, the LGA have a target of providing development opportunities for at least 700 councillors and also run a more tailored development offer for ambitious councillors. This MoU is reviewed formally on a quarterly basis by officials and the LGA.

Housing: Construction

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much money has been allocated from the New Homes Bonus to (a) Swindon and (b) England in each year since that grant's inception.

Dominic Raab: I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 2 February 2017 to Question UIN 61781. Allocations in 2017/18 for Swindon and local authorities in England are set out in the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-homes-bonus-final-allocations-2017-to-2018In 2017/18 a retrospective allocation was made to 9 authorities totalling £33,600 to correct a minor error in their Affordable Housing numbers for Year 6. This increased the total allocation for England in 2016/17 to £1,461,888,924.

Private Rented Housing: Standards

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes in the private rented sector have not met the decent homes standard in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Gateshead, (d) the North East and (e) the UK in each year since 2010.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department's English Housing Survey assesses the extent to which private rented sector homes in England meet the Decent Homes Standard. Data back to 2010 are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2016-to-2017-headline-reportThe Department does not publish data on non-decent homes in the North East, and the survey is not designed to produce local authority or constituency level estimates.

Carillion

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the most recent assessment was made of Carillion's ability to fulfil its contractual obligations to local government.

Rishi Sunak: Local authorities are independent bodies, elected by and accountable to local communities. It is the responsibility of individual authorities to decide which contracts to let, and who to let them to. They will assess potential suppliers as part of this process. The Government does not intervene in this process.We have, however, been working through the Local Government Association to understand whether affected local authorities in England have robust contingency plans in place to manage the impacts of Carillion failing.

Housing: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities received financial support from the Government for collecting and reporting data on private sector residential buildings with dangerous cladding; how much such support has been allocated to date; and when the first such support payment was made.

Dominic Raab: We have provided financial support to local authorities for data collection and reporting on cladding on high rise private residential buildings, which we recognise as a New Burden. The total amount transferred to local authorities was £289,000 which was paid to 209 local authorities in December 2017.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the local authorities' review of high-rise residential buildings with dangerous cladding in their areas, which local authorities have (a) completed and (b) not completed that review.

Dominic Raab: Local authorities and housing associations in England have identified all Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) clad social housing over 18 metres in England and have informed the government that the necessary interim safety measures are in place to keep all residents safe.   Local authorities are continuing to work with building owners to determine the cladding on private sector high-rise buildings and the latest data release has been published on Gov.uk. the data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-safety-programme#data-on-the-building-safety-progamme

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department is providing for essential fire safety work in tower blocks identified as unsafe due to flammable cladding.

Dominic Raab: Local authorities are responsible for funding the costs of fire safety work in their own buildings. However, the Government will consider financial flexibilities to enable local authorities to undertake essential fire safety work to make buildings safe. If a local authority building owner considers a building to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make a building safe. This will need to be done as part of a whole fire safety strategy for each individual building, taking into account expert advice, any directions or advice from the local fire and rescue service and fire safety measures present.Councils should contact my department if they have concerns about funding firesafety works in their buildings.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people live in tower blocks which have been declared unsafe after failing fire safety safety tests.

Dominic Raab: The focus of the Building Safety Programme has been to identify residential buildings in England over 18 metres with aluminium composite material cladding that may present a fire hazard. We do not hold information on the numbers of residents in these buildings.However, the Government does publish monthly data releases on the progress of the Building Safety Programme which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-safety-programme#data-on-the-building-safety-progamme

Planning Permission

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the area of land (a) nationally and (b) within the South West which is owned by building firms and has (i) no pending planning applications and (ii) had planning permission granted but upon which no building has commenced.

Dominic Raab: No such estimates have been made.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many of the former residents of Grenfell Tower have been rehoused in permanent accommodation as of 23 January 2018.

Dominic Raab: The latest figures from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), as of 25 January 2018, show that 95 households from Grenfell Tower or Walk have accepted an offer of permanent accommodation, and that of this number, 54 households have moved into permanent accommodation. Figures also show that 96 households from Grenfell Tower or Walk remain in emergency accommodation, which includes those living in hotels, serviced apartments and some who are living with friends and family. The Council has assured me that no residents from Grenfell Tower or Walk are living in bed and breakfast accommodation.Whilst permanent homes are being acquired and made ready for residents, the Council is working closely with residents to help them move into good quality, local interim homes. The Council has committed that the interim homes offered to residents are self-contained, fully furnished, big enough for each family and are not in a high rise building. The Council is also providing advice and help to residents in setting up their new temporary home. A total of 58 households from Grenfell Tower or Walk have moved into interim accommodation.The Council has acquired hundreds of permanent homes for the survivors of Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk to give people as much choice as possible. But while no-one should be rushed into making such an important decision about where they are going to live, for some the pace has been too slow.I expect the Council to do whatever is necessary to ensure households can move into settled homes as swiftly as possible, but to do so sensitively and taking into account individual needs.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many former residents of Grenfell Tower are living in bed and breakfasts, interim and temporary accommodation.

Dominic Raab: I refer the Rt Hon Member for Tottenham to the answer I gave today to Question UIN 124562.

Supported Housing: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish an assessment of the cumulative effect of policy measures on funding for supported housing from those measures set out in the Autumn Statement 2015 to date.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The consultation on the recent proposals, announced in October 2017 has recently closed. Our priority for reform on this issue throughout has been to ensure that vulnerable people who rely on supported housing are protected, whilst strengthening the role that oversight and value for money play in the funding model and making sure that funding for supported housing is on a secure and sustainable footing for the future.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of removing the rent cap for tenants of the Grenfell Walkways who have not yet been rehoused on the ability of those tenants to afford their interim accommodation.

Dominic Raab: The policy for rehousing residents affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower remains a matter for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC).Tenants who lived in the Walkway blocks who have moved into alternative private rented accommodation will have their rent and service charges capped at the same level they paid for their home in the Walkways until at least the end of June 2018.RBKC has set out a draft permanent rehousing policy that applies to residents of the Walkways who do not wish to return to their homes. The public consultation on this policy ended on 5 January 2018 and the Council will take residents’ views into account when they confirm a final policy.We are working closely with RBKC to ensure residents are able to return to their homes where possible. We have allocated £15 million of funds in the recent Budget, which will be matched by RBKC, to invest into the Lancaster West Estate to make it a model for social housing and a wonderful, vibrant place to live.

Housing: Construction

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Starter Homes (a) were built in 2017 and (b) are projected to be built in 2018.

Dominic Raab: We are supporting people's aspirations to buy through a range of initiatives. This includes Help to Buy, Right to Buy, greater funding for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, and our plans for starter homes. Since Spring 2010, Government-backed schemes have helped over 433,000 households to buy a home and the number of first-time buyers is at a nine-year annual high. At the last Budget, the Government announced that first-time buyers will pay zero stamp duty on the first £300,000 of any home that costs up to £500,000.The definition of starter homes is being finalised as part of the revised draft National Planning Policy Framework, which we will be publishing early this year.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Reorganisation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2018 to Question 122890, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of renaming his Department in respect of (a) signage, (b) stationery, (c) website, (d) business cards and (e) any other associated costs.

Jake Berry: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to the previous question UIN 121624.The Department is currently in the process of implementing the changes of renaming the Department, and costs are at an estimate stage. Costs pertaining to banners, screens and signs are estimated at £3,900. Other costs for stationery, website and other associated costs are to be confirmed.Were the Department to have been split as the opposition suggested, costs on these things would be similar or double, although these costs would have been relatively minor in comparison to the vast other costs incurred.

Supported Housing: Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects to respond to his Department's recent consultation on the funding of supported housing.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The consultations on the short-term accommodation grant and sheltered housing model closed on Tuesday 23 January 2018.We will now consider all responses and the Government will provide a full response in the early summer of 2018. In the meantime we will continue to work with providers and local government on the details of the proposed funding models.

First Time Buyers: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Starter Homes were built in 2017 in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands; and what estimate his Department has made of the number of such homes which will be built in 2018 in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

Dominic Raab: We are supporting people's aspirations to buy through a range of initiatives including Help to Buy, Right to Buy, greater funding for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, and our plans for starter homes. Since Spring 2010 Government-backed schemes have helped over 433,000 households to buy a home and the number of first-time buyers is at a nine-year annual high. At the last Budget, the Government announced that first-time buyers will pay zero stamp duty on the first £300,000 of any home that costs up to £500,000.The definition of starter homes is being finalised as part of the revised draft National Planning Policy Framework, which we will be publishing early this year.

Homelessness

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of Government policies on levels of homelessness over the last seven years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: My Department publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief in England. These are published at a local authority level. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statisticsEngland has a strong homelessness safety net, providing protection to the most vulnerable in our society.Successful homelessness prevention and relief has risen by 30 per cent between 2009/10 and 2016/17.But the Government remains clear that one person without a home is one too many. We are committed to do more to prevent more people becoming homeless in the first place.That’s why we are implementing the most ambitious legislative reform in decades, the Homelessness Reduction Act, in April 2018, which will ensure that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.We are also remodelling statutory homelessness data collection alongside the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act to give us better insights into the causes of homelessness and the support people need.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Former Members

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former Conservative Members of Parliament who were defeated at the 2017 general election and who now work in his Department were appointed after a publicly advertised and open recruitment process.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Records held by the Ministry of Defence indicate that no former Conservative Members of Parliament who were defeated in the General Election of 2017 are currently employed as members of the Senior Civil Service (SCS). Information on the previous employment history of Civil Servants below SCS is not held in the format requested.

Ministry of Defence: Beverage Containers

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many disposable coffee cups were purchased by his Department in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information on how many disposable cups were purchased by the Ministry of Defence is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Navy: Officers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the responsibilities are of the Royal Navy's post of Chief Technology Officer.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Chief Technology Officer for the Royal Navy will be working across the Ministry of Defence, with our international partners and with academia and industry to fulfil the responsibilities of a role that provides the Navy Board with guidance as to the Navy's technological needs for ships, submarines, aircraft and Royal Marines equipment, including training, procurement, personnel and Information Warfare.

USA: Defence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the US administration's National Defense Strategy, published in January 2018.

Gavin Williamson: We welcome the publication of the US' National Defense Strategy on 19 January 2018. The Government and the US Administration have a shared understanding of many of the serious challenges it outlines. In particular, the renewed emphasis given by the Strategy to inter-state strategic competition echoes our concern regarding the risk to the UK and Europe from state-based threats. With a clear emphasis on allies and partners, including NATO, to achieve its objectives, the document provides a useful framework on which to focus joint and allied efforts. The US and UK are very close allies and partners, with a uniquely broad and deep defence and security relationship, and we will continue to work together on issues vital to the UK's security and prosperity."

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from each branch of the UK armed forces are deployed in support of the Afghan National Army Officer Academy; and whether he plans to increase the number of such personnel.

Mark Lancaster: The Defence Secretary announced an increase to the UK's troop contribution in Afghanistan on 27 November 2017, which included additional personnel to support the training and development of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF). The UK is helping to train the next generation of Army leaders at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA); an institution which has an important role in building the capacity of the ANDSF. As of 22 January 2018 the number of UK military personnel deployed in support of ANAOA is:Naval Service - 2Army - 141Royal Air Force - 0The UK keeps its troop contribution under constant review to ensure it remains suited to the needs of the mission.

Carillion

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has met with representatives of Carillion since his appointment as Secretary of State.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: No official meetings have taken place between the Defence Secretary and representatives of Carillion since his appointment as Secretary of State.Ministry of Defence Ministers and officials hold regular meetings with defence contractors and suppliers, to discuss a variety of subjects.

Ministry of Defence: Babcock International

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the performance of Babcock International against agreed Key Performance Indicators in respect of his Department's live contracts with that company.

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements his Department has in place to monitor Babcock International's performance and safety record.

Guto Bebb: Babcock is a key supplier to the Ministry of Defence and the company's relationship with the Department is managed at a strategic level through a key supplier representative. This role is currently undertaken by the Chief of Materiel (Ships) within Defence Equipment and Support, who engages with Babcock on a regular basis. Project and safety performance reviews form a significant element of these discussions.With regards to safety, appropriate measures are in place to reduce risk and these are rigorously monitored to ensure that any emerging issues are identified and addressed.

Ministry of Defence: Babcock International

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many contracts his Department has in place with Babcock International; what the lengths of those contracts are; and what their date of expiry is.

Guto Bebb: Babcock is the second largest supplier to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) with 292 contracts currently in place, worth more than £20.2 billion. These contracts cover a range of equipment, capability and services across the maritime, air and land domains. The length of these contracts range from one month to 29 years, with the latest expiry date being in 2038.Information about the contracts that we place with industry is available on GOV.uk as part of our MOD Trade, Industry and Contracts statistics:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-trade-industry-and-contracts-2017In addition, MOD contracts worth over £10,000 are published on the Government's Contracts Finder website, which is available on GOV.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Amey and Carillion

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department put in place to manage the Regional Prime and National Housing contracts run by (a) Carillon and (b) Amey in the event that those companies could no longer fulfil their contracts.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The National Housing Prime and Regional Prime contracts are all CarillionAmey Joint Ventures, where the remaining partner is required to deliver services if the other partner can no longer do so.The Ministry of Defence has extensive contingency plans in place for each of these contracts and remains confident in the robustness and the sustainability of these arrangements.

USA: Nuclear Weapons

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2018 to Question 122320 on USA: Nuclear Weapons what views were sought by the US administration; and what response the UK Government provided.

Gavin Williamson: The UK provided input to the US Nuclear Posture Review as part of our close and regular dialogue with the US Administration. I am not prepared to discuss the details of the UK Government input for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Ministry of Defence Guard Service

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s plans are for the Ministry of Defence Guard Service.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Security remains a priority for the Department and no decisions will be taken which would compromise the security of our personnel, information and assets.The Ministry of Defence intends to fully explore and develop options, for the future provision of an effective unarmed guarding service for Defence establishments throughout the UK that achieves maximum value for money for tax payers. It is too early to determine how this service will be provided in the future.

Armed Forces: Private Education

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the Continuity of Education Allowance payments made to each Service, by rank, over each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The requested information is provided in the attached tables.



CEA Payments
(Excel SpreadSheet, 31.78 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor held with the Government Chief Scientific Adviser between October 2017 and December 2017.

Guto Bebb: None.

War Widows: Pensions

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women widowed during the Second World War are claiming war widow or widower pensions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Drinking Water

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information on how much money was spent on bottled water by the Department, each year since 2010 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Babcock International

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the rate of New Stores Rejects for his Department's contracts with Babcock International.

Guto Bebb: Babcock is the second largest supplier to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) covering a range of equipment, capability and services across the maritime, air and land domains.Appropriate processes are in place to allow the MOD to reject goods that do not conform to the requirements of a contract. Detailed information regarding New Stores Rejects is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Presidents Club

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any Ministers in his Department attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educational Trust in an official capacity.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: No Defence Ministers attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner hosted by the Meller Educational Trust in any capacity.

Armed Forces: Credit Unions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what further steps he plans to take to promote access to the Armed Forces Credit Union; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 December 2017 to Question 117083.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-12-01/117083/



Armed Forces: Credit Unions
(Word Document, 24.59 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Directors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who the lead non-executive director and other non-executive director board members are in his Department.

Gavin Williamson: The lead non-executive director on the Defence Board is Sir Gerry Grimstone. The other non-executive board members are Paul Skinner, Danuta Gray and Simon Henry.

Albania: NATO

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to support Albania’s application to join NATO.

Mark Lancaster: Albania became a full member of NATO on 1 April 2009.

HMNB Clyde: Radioactive Waste

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to ensure there are adequate arrangements for the safe handling of radioactive waste at HMNB Clyde.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence takes its responsibilities for the safety and security of radioactive materials very seriously. The safety of the public, the defence workforce and the protection of the environment remain the Department's priority. We fully comply with applicable environmental legislation and have a robust reporting process with Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde operating under clear agreements with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the UK's air defence assets; and whether he plans to replace current equipment.

Guto Bebb: The UK is defended by an integrated air defence system that includes Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft held at continuous readiness, 24 hours a day, and air surveillance and control facilities that are fully interoperable with NATO allies. Additionally, ground based air defence is provided by Army Air Defence Regiments and Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyers have an air defence capability.The Ministry of Defence keeps its equipment requirements under continuous review to ensure it can react to the evolving defence environment.

Tanks

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department has spent to date on the (a) Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme and (b) Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme.

Guto Bebb: The spend to the end of December 2017 (inclusive of VAT) on the Challenger Life Extension Programme is £38.2 million and on the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme is £401 million.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness: Personal Property

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, under what powers the property of a person who is street homeless can be confiscated.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: There are no powers to confiscate the property of a person who is street homeless on the basis that they are sleeping rough.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many meetings he had with the Government Chief Scientific Adviser between October and December 2017.

David Mundell: I did not meet with the Government Chief Scientific Adviser between October and December 2017.

Scotland Office: Directors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, who the lead non-executive director and other non-executive director board members are in his Department.

David Mundell: Details of the Scotland Office and OAG Governance Framework can be found in the Department’s annual report:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scotland-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-17

Department for International Trade

India: Exports

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many UK arms export licenses have been granted to India in each of the last five years.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many UK arms export licenses have been granted to Indonesia in each of the last five years.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many UK arms export licenses have been granted to Saudi Arabia in each of the last five years.

Graham Stuart: All export licence applications are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, known as the Consolidated Criteria, based on the most up-to-date information and analysis available, including reports from NGOs and our overseas network.The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted and refused on GOV.UK and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-dataCurrently this includes information up to 30 September 2017. Information covering 1 October to 31 December 2017 will be published in April 2018. The data for 2017 is therefore only available for January – September 2017. The figures for licences granted for military exports are as follows: IndiaIndonesiaSaudi Arabia2013626173148201457015414820156151801942016619190119Q1-Q3 2017469172134

Small Businesses: Civil Proceedings

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what support the Government provides to small and medium businesses engaged in international disputes when legal routes are not affordable for those businesses.

Graham Stuart: The European Commission currently leads on international trade disputes on behalf of the UK. The Government may pursue formal action on trade disputes through the World Trade Organisation via the European Commission where it considers this is in the UK's interests. It is for companies to take commercial decisions on whether to seek legal advice in support of alleged business to business disputes.

Department for International Trade: Drinking Water

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since its establishment.

Greg Hands: The department does not purchase bottled water or water cooler bottles, and has not since its establishment. The water coolers use water fed directly from the mains supply.

Department for Transport

Aviation: Carbon Emissions

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what targets his Department has set for carbon emissions in the aviation sector in (a) 2030, (b) 2040 and (c) 2050.

Jesse Norman: The Government has set no specific emissions target for the UK aviation sector in any of the three years named. While domestic aviation is included, emissions from international aviation are currently excluded from the legally-binding 2050 target which was set by the Climate Change Act 2008, and from the five carbon budgets which have been set to date (covering the period up to 2032). However, the UK’s carbon budgets have been set at a level that accounts for international aviation and shipping emissions, so that the UK is on a trajectory that could be consistent with a 2050 target that includes these emissions. Last year the UK was instrumental in reaching a ground-breaking international agreement at the International Civil Aviation Organisation on how to limit the emissions from the sector. The Government will now set out its strategic approach to the aviation sector in a series of consultations leading to the publication of a new Aviation Strategy for the UK in 2019. The Strategy will consider what the best approach and combination of policy measures are at the international and domestic level to ensure we effectively address carbon emissions from aviation.

Level Crossings: Cornwall

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on improving safety at level crossings in Cornwall; and what steps are being taken to improve such safety.

Joseph Johnson: My Department has frequent discussions with Network Rail about level crossing safety across the UK. In 2018, Network Rail will be delivering a number of safety improvements in Cornwall as part of its Capacity Enabling Scheme. These enhancements include upgrading seven high-risk level crossings located on the mainline railway. This will see the installation of overlay miniature stop lights (OMSL) systems at user-worked, footpath and bridleway crossings, and the enhancement of a half barrier public road crossing to full barrier protection with obstacle detection.

Railways: Compensation

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to make it easier for passengers to receive compensation for delayed journeys.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to include a requirement to operate an automatic Delay Repay scheme in future rail franchise agreements.

Joseph Johnson: We want train operators to make claiming compensation for delays as swift and simple as possible for passengers. We have encouraged better promotion and increased awareness of Delay Repay compensation schemes and we have encouraged train operating companies to make the claims process simple and easy to use, using automation where appropriate – by using a simple online claim process and providing new ways of making claims, for example, by smartcards, by smartphones using an ‘App’ or by other means. We welcome the fact that all train operating companies now have a dedicated online claim process. Rail passengers are more willing and able than ever to demand and get fair compensation if their train is late or cancelled, with over £73m paid out to successful claimants in 2016/17 – an increase of 63.8% on the 2015/16 total of £44.9m. We are improving rail passenger compensation by introducing Delay Repay from 15 minutes (DR15), which is being rolled out across the network as franchise contracts come up for renewal.

Transport: Biofuels

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating E10 for fuel in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The supply of E10 is one option open to suppliers in meeting targets under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The level of targets under the RTFO will rise from April, subject to Parliamentary approval of the amending statutory instrument laid in Parliament on 15 January. These amendments do not impose a requirement that suppliers must introduce E10. However, the cost benefit analysis accompanying the RTFO legislative proposals include our assessment of the effects of different levels of E10 that may be supplied to meet the targets. This is available in Annex A at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-transport-fuel-obligations-order-government-response.

Railway Stations: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will request from Network Rail an assessment of the passenger and rail capacity needs of Swindon Station.

Joseph Johnson: The Department does not normally undertake its own assessments of passenger and rail capacity needs at individual stations, depending on Network Rail to do that as part of its route planning.

Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has been made of the average journey time between Swindon and London Paddington upon completion of the electrification of the Great Western Main Line.

Joseph Johnson: Once electrification of Great Western from Paddington to Cardiff is complete, the average journey times between London Paddington, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea are expected to reduce by around 15 minutes. Precise journey times from London Paddington to Swindon will be confirmed as part of the industry’s timetable bidding process, later this year.

Railway Stations: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of passengers who used Swindon Station in each year for which data is available.

Joseph Johnson: It is the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) which collects and publishes statistics on use of stations, which can be found at: http://orr.gov.uk/statistics/published-stats/station-usage-estimates. The usage of Swindon station shown in those statistics is: 2000-01: 2,064,6692001-02: 2,011,1592002-03: 2,117,0842003-04: -*2004-05: 2,257,7192005-06: 2,340,9522006-07: 2,515,4922007-08: 2,758,8912008-09: 2,905,2662009-10: 2,835,3642010-11: 3,039,2282011-12: 3,232,5782012-13: 3,220,1802013-14: 3,350,4442014-15: 3,503,9822015-16: 3,580,5402016-17: 3,679,242 * The statistics consistently omit the 2003-04 year due to a change in the statistical series.

Driving Tests: Pontypridd

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on which date his Department plans to relocate the Pontypridd driving test centre to Llantrisant.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is now working with its contractors to determine a delivery programme for the works required to effect the relocation from Pontypridd driving test centre to Llantrisant goods vehicle testing station. Once the programme has been agreed the DVSA will confirm the date on which the centre will be relocated, and inform affected stakeholders including candidates, approved driving instructors, MPs, Welsh Assembly Members, and the local council.

Driving Tests: Pontypridd

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the relocation of Pontypridd driving test centre to Llantrisant.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have advised that the building that currently accommodates Pontypridd driving test centre (DTC) has reached the end of its functional and economic life. The Government-owned Llantrisant goods vehicle testing station (GVTS), which is only seven miles from Pontypridd DTC, provides low-cost alternative accommodation that meets all of the DVSA'S location criteria and testing requirements. The relocation is expected to reduce the DVSA’s rental liabilities by over £6,000 a year, and avoid significant costs associated with making the current property fit for purpose. The relocation to Llantrisant GVTS should also provide both accommodation and operational efficiency cost savings, while improving the customer experience and maintaining the service quality of the car practical driving test.

Driving: Licensing

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of people with over 12 penalty points on their licence who are licensed to drive.

Jesse Norman: Of the 45 million drivers registered in Great Britain on 13 January, 3,510 drivers had over 12 points on their driving licence and had entitlement to drive.

Rolling Stock: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress is being made on the phasing out and replacement of Pacer trains on the UK rail network in the North East of England.

Joseph Johnson: The Department recognises that Pacers fall short of passengers’ expectations and so required bidders for the Northern franchise to phase them out. Arriva Rail North are investing £400 million in 281 brand new air-conditioned carriages, more than double the minimum required in the government’s invitation to tender, and remain on track to deliver the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019 at the latest.

Driving Tests: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the availability of Welsh language provision during the new sat nav element of the driving test.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) takes its responsibilities under the Welsh Language Act seriously, and considered the provisions of the Welsh Language Act 1993 when reviewing the changes to the car practical driving test. Currently, while the theory test can be conducted in Welsh, there is no satnav manufacturer who offers an instruction in Welsh; as a result we cannot include a Welsh speaking facility on the satnav.  The Welsh Government has not raised any concerns, and the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office has confirmed it is content with the DVSA’s approach of the use of the sat nav.

Driving Tests: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made by the DVSA on complying with the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Welsh language standards.

Jesse Norman: On 10 January 2018, the Welsh Language Commissioner approved the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s new Welsh Language Scheme.

Driving Tests: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether people taking their driving test are advised in advance that the sat nav element of that test is not available in the Welsh language; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) takes its responsibilities under the Welsh Language Act seriously, and considered carefully the provisions of the Act when reviewing the changes to the car practical driving test. The driving examiner does not decide until the test begins which form of independent driving, which may or may not itself include a satnav element, will be delivered. Currently, the test candidate is not informed prior to the test that the sat nav element is not available in the Welsh language. There is no satnav manufacturer that offers an instruction in Welsh. As a result, the DVSA cannot include a Welsh speaking facility on the satnav. The driving test confirmation letter will shortly be amended to inform the test candidate prior to the test that the satnav element is not available in the Welsh language.

Electric Vehicles: Urban Areas

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to ensure that fast chargers for electric cars are available in towns with populations under 100,000.

Jesse Norman: The UK already has more than 900 rapid chargepoints, one of the largest networks in Europe. The Government has put in place a range of grant schemes to support the installation of charging infrastructure - on-street, off-street and at workplaces. At Autumn Budget 2017, the Chancellor announced a new £400m electric vehicle Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (£200m new Government investment to be matched by private investors). This funding could include supporting rapid chargers, and more detail on how the Fund will be administered will be published in due course. Increasingly the private sector is seeing the opportunity of this new market, with chargers going in at destinations including hotels and supermarkets. We are also taking powers through the Automated and Electric Vehicle Bill to ensure the roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructure at key locations like motorway service areas and large fuel stations.

Carillion

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the most recent assessment took place of Carillion's ability to fulfil its contractual obligations in the transport sector.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Assessments of a company’s ability to deliver its obligations is performed during each procurement exercise Our Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) also have contingency plans which vary depending on the particular contract. ALBs are working to ensure continuity of service and they have not currently reported any operational issues. With respect to the CEK Joint Venture (comprising Carillion, Eiffage and Kier) on HS2, HS2 Ltd undertook due diligence on the CEK Joint Venture prior to the Main Works Civils Contract Award in July 2017. HS2 Ltd has also carried out additional due diligence and sought re-assurance of both Joint Venture partners, Kier and Eiffage, that they remain committed and capable to deliver the contract. Each company's Boards have both given that assurance and confirmed that they underwrite the performance of each other and have the capacity to deliver the HS2 contract.

Railways: West Midlands

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of investing in rail infrastructure on the West Midlands Network to increase capacity on services to and from Telford; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: Capacity to and from Telford will be increased through the introduction of a second off-peak service on the Wolverhampton corridor from 2018. The West Midlands franchise, which began in December 2017, will also increase capacity through the introduction of a Sunday service between Birmingham and Shrewsbury from December 2018, and a second train per hour introduced in May 2021 will further increase capacity. No infrastructure enhancements is needed to deliver this increase in capacity.

Dangerous Driving

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of incidents involving dangerous driving.

Jesse Norman: The Department is constantly looking to build on the UK’s excellent national road safety record. The Department’s “British Road Safety Statement” published in December 2015 sets out measures to further improve safety of all road users.

Travel: Greater Manchester

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of people who travelled to work by (a) car, (b) bus and (c) rail in Manchester in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The number of people who usually travelled to work by car, bus and rail in Greater Manchester in each of the last five years are given in the table below (based on the Labour Force Survey). Figures have been pro-rated based on proportions for those that answered the question on usual mode of travel to work.  CarBus1Rail22012913,000100,00043,0002013878,000117,00050,0002014917,000123,00064,0002015911,000122,00068,0002016919,000129,00071,0001 Also includes coaches.2 Includes national rail, underground, light railway systems and trams.

East Midlands Trains: Bedford

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the value of compensation payments to East Midlands Trains for the loss of revenue for trains stopping at Bedford.

Joseph Johnson: The Department does not have this information. Negotiations about the impact on the revenue of East Midlands Trains (EMT) from not stopping at Bedford and the compensation that they would receive are yet to begin and in any case will be commercially confidential. It should be noted that the revenue lost by EMT is expected in large part to be offset by a corresponding increase in revenue for Thameslink, which being part of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will be passed through to the Department under the terms of its Franchise Agreement.

Railways: Tickets

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that ticket machines at train stations always offer the lowest available fares.

Joseph Johnson: We recognize that rail passengers should always be able to get the best deal. That is why the Department has worked closely with industry and other stakeholders on the Action Plan for Information on Rail Fares and Ticketing Information launched in December 2016 to make it easier for passengers to choose the right fares for them. Today, all ticket vending machines (TVMs) in the country will alert customers if they have selected a more expensive type of the same ticket. Many train companies have taken a step further to introduce a voluntary TVM price guarantee promising a refund of the additional ticket costs to passengers who find that they could have bought a cheaper ticket for the same journey.

Railways: Tickets

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that ticket machines at train stations sell tickets at peak time for off-peak journeys.

Joseph Johnson: Ticket vending machines are designed to make it easier for passengers to buy tickets for immediate travel. This makes them quicker and easier to use and reduces the risk that a passenger buys a ticket that isn’t valid for immediate travel. However it can be frustrating for passengers if, by waiting a few minutes, they could have got a cheaper off-peak ticket. That is why, as part of the Action Plan for Information on Rail Fares and Ticketing Information, agreed with industry and launched in December 2016, , that train companies would upgrade vending machines so that they alert passengers when they will shortly sell off-peak tickets. Work on this action is underway and expected to complete by early 2018.

Railways: Tickets

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of ticket machines available at train stations.

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of the number of ticket machines available at train stations.

Joseph Johnson: The Department requires companies bidding for rail franchises to include proposals to ensure the availability of tickets to all passengers. This includes ensuring that passengers have a variety of accessible means by which to purchase their tickets, including via ticket vending machines. Should demand increase in the course of a franchise, the Department has established a framework for train companies to invest in infrastructure beyond the life of the franchise. The Department is also investing £80m to roll out smart ticketing across almost all of the rail network, aligned with the Rail Delivery Group’s mobile barcode programme, which will make it easier for passengers to buy their tickets by app or online.

Department of Transport: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings he held with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between October and December 2017.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Transport Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) met with the Secretary of State once during this period, with other senior officials. The CSA also met with the former Parliamentary under Secretary of State, Paul Maynard MP, and the Parliamentary under Secretary of State, Jesse Norman MP, during this time period.

Department for Transport: Drinking Water

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The central Department for Transport and the DVLA and VCA executive agencies have not incurred any expenditure on bottled water since 2010. The DVSA and MCA executive agencies have incurred the following expenditure since 2010:- 2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18£809£3,150£2,819£3,616£1,268£2,675£3,910£4,496 The vast majority of the spend above has been incurred on the large water dispenser bottles which are used on watercoolers. The empties are returned to the supplier for reuse/refilling. The spend for one of our Executive Agencies for 2010-11 is not available due to their catering supplier having changed in 2011.

Roads: Driverless Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the findings of KPMG's Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index, published in January 2018, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK roads are ready for autonomous vehicles.

Jesse Norman: The Department welcomes publication of the KPMG index, which ranks the United Kingdom in the top five nations for overall autonomous vehicle readiness. The index reflects our excellence in technology and innovation and highlights the very strong industry partnerships and academic research this Government has established, as well as our exemplar status in terms of regulation. The more moderate perceived performance in enabling autonomous vehicle infrastructure is due, largely, to a low overall score for 4G coverage. Although substantial improvements in 4G coverage have been achieved recently, reliable coverage across our road networks is a Government priority, demonstrated by the 2017 Conservative manifesto commitment to improve coverage on major roads as well as railways. The Department continues to work closely both with the Government’s Digital Implementation Taskforce to ensure delivery of this commitment, and with the industry to determine what the enabling requirements for automated vehicles will be.

Department for Transport: Directors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the lead non-executive director and other non-executive director board members are in his Department.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department’s lead non-executive board member is Ian King. The other non-executive board members are Richard Aitken-Davies, Richard Keys, Tony Poulter, Mary Reilly, and Tracey Westall.

Carillion

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of potential (a) delays and (b) rescheduling to the South Wales mainline electrification project as a result of the collapse of Carillion.

Joseph Johnson: Carillion hold a number of contracts with the Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), including Network Rail. Following the news that Carillion has entered liquidation, Network Rail is working hard to ensure that any impact on transport projects is kept to a minimum and there have been no reported impacts.

M11: Safety

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the safety and capacity of the M11 if more houses are built in Saffron Walden.

Jesse Norman: The assessment of a housing proposal that falls within the scope of a local plan is the responsibility of the local planning authority. In this case it would be for Uttlesford District Council to assess the transport implications of sites they intend to allocate within their local plan.

Roads: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated from the public purse to roads and highways in Coventry in each of the last seven years.

Jesse Norman: Coventry City Council is a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority. Between 2010/11 and 2017/18 the Department for Transport provided the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) with over £386 million to upgrade and improve local highways within the West Midlands area. It is for the WMCA to distribute this funding to its constituent members such as Coventry City Council. The Department for Transport has also directly allocated Coventry City Council over £10 million to upgrade and improve local highways within the City between 2010/11 and 2017/18, in addition to funding for roads which fall within the strategic road network and are managed by Highways England.

Railways: Safety

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2017 to Question 116967, on railways: safety, if his Department publish the roles of the Network Rail staff who do not hold Personal Track Safety cards.

Joseph Johnson: Network Rail employees in roles which do not require regular access on or near the railway line do not require Personal Track Safety (PTS) certification. Where these employees require access on or near the railway line for a specific purpose, they will be issued with a Track Visitor Permit (TVP).

Community Transport: Rural Areas

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available for community transport initiatives in rural areas.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport spent almost £3.5m on supporting the not-for-profit community transport sector through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in the 2016 to 2017 financial year. BSOG is a grant paid to operators of eligible bus services and community transport organisations in England to help them recover some fuel costs. In addition, the Department has made funding available to help charities and community groups purchase new community minibuses, and in the most recent funding round in April 2017 we announced the allocation of £2m to 40 groups for a new community minibus each.

Level Crossings

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made on preparing legislative proposals in response to the recommendations of the Law Commission's report on Level Crossings, published on 25 September 2013.

Joseph Johnson: My Department has recently been in discussion with the Law Commission, Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road regarding legislative proposals for level crossings. We will be making an announcement shortly on our proposed next steps.

Railways: Finance

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions took place between his Department and the ORR prior to the establishment of the financial framework for Control Period 6; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The financial framework for Control Period 6 has not yet been set and will be finalised by the ORR later this year. The Statement of Funds Available published in October 2017 confirmed Government’s intent to change some of the mechanisms by which it funds Network Rail, but other aspects of the financial framework remain under active development by the ORR. The Department for Transport has regular engagement with the ORR on the development of the financial framework, in light of Government’s strong interest in this issue.

Railways: Franchises

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to include enhancements to infrastructure in future rail franchise bids; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: Whilst we currently have no such explicit plans, there is nothing to prevent bidders including infrastructure proposals that could provide passenger benefits or improved efficiencies in their franchise bid. And as the Secretary of State recently announced, we are also setting out our plans for a new generation of regional rail partnerships between the public and private sector. When these plans are developed, we will bring them to the back to this House. We will also be looking to see what lessons can be learnt in this area from the Welsh Government’s procurement which includes Core Valley Lines infrastructure.

Trains

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) maximum capable speed and (b) average expected speed of the trains will be in (i) diesel and (ii) electric mode in optimal conditions of the new bi-modal trains to be introduced in the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise and the Hull Trains open access operator in 2018-19 to 2019-20.

Joseph Johnson: On the East Coast Mainline, Intercity Express Trains (IETs) are capable of achieving 125mph in electric traction and in diesel mode a balancing speed (determined by a number of variables such as track gradient and passenger load) of approximately 115mph under test conditions. The average speed of the IETs will be dependent on the route, stopping pattern and dwell times at stations; we therefore do not hold this information. With respect to Hull Trains, it is not possible to comment on the performance of any trains not procured by the Department.

Rolling Stock: North of England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether new rolling stock being introduced on the (a) northern and (b) TransPennine Express franchises will reduce journey times between Hull and Manchester.

Joseph Johnson: As Northern Trains do not run direct services between Hull and Manchester, and the new rolling stock on TransPennine Express is not being allocated to the Hull to Manchester route, the new rolling stock being introduced on the two franchises will not affect train timings for this journey.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Syria: Armed Conflict

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on Turkish military action against the YPG in northern Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate interest in the security of its borders. We are closely following developments in Afrin in north-western Syria. Both the Foreign Secretary and Minister Burt have been in contact with Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu over the past days to urge them to avoid any escalation in violence and to seek to protect civilians. It remains in our shared interest to focus on achieving a political settlement that ends the war and suffering, and provides stability for all Syrians and the wider region.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the governments of Ukraine and Russia on the implications for security in that region of the Ukrainian Parliament’s declaration of 18 January 2018 that Russia is an aggressor state.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Russia's territorial aggression in the Donbas and Crimea, and its broader efforts to undermine and destabilise Ukraine, represent a fundamental challenge to the rules-based international order and a threat to regional security. We make this clear in discussions with both Ukrainian and Russian interlocutors. It is for the Ukrainian government to determine how it organises its response to this aggression.

Gibraltar

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Gibraltar be included in the transitional arrangements between the UK and the European Commission; and if he make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK has committed to fully involve the Government of Gibraltar as we leave the EU to ensure its priorities are properly taken into account in all aspects.

Ghana: Politics and Government

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) human rights and (b) security situation in Ghana.

Harriett Baldwin: Ghana is one of Africa's most stable and outward looking countries with well developed democratic structures. It has ratified most international human rights treaties and continues to work towards full implementation. The UK has some concerns, including continued use of child labour and the treatment of women and girls. We have raised these with the Government of Ghana, including alongside international partners at Ghana's Universal Periodic Review in November 2017.Ghana is relatively peaceful and secure. The Government of Ghana remains concerned about recent terrorist attacks in several neighbouring countries. We have been working closely with the Government of Ghana to assist in their efforts to reduce the threat, including to the UK, from serious security challenges and reduce regional instability.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Presidents Club

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he first became aware that a lunch engagement with him was to be auctioned at the Presidents Club dinner of 18 January 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign Secretary had not agreed to support this event and knew nothing of his inclusion in the auction.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Presidents Club

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he approved the auctioning of a lunch engagement with him at the Presidents Club dinner of 18 January 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign Secretary had not agreed to support this event and knew nothing of his inclusion in the auction.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Presidents Club

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether and in which years he has attended the Presidents Club dinner.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary took up his current role on 13 July 2016. During this period, he has not attended a President's Club dinner.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Charitable Donations

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the details of all meetings and meals with him, his predecessors and his Department's Ministers or access to his Department's premises which was gifted to or auctioned by charitable or other organisations since 2010.

Sir Alan Duncan: Details of official Ministerial meetings are published as part of the Department’s quarterly transparency return and can be found here on the gov.uk website. We are not aware of access to FCO premises having been gifted to or auctioned by external organisations.

Burma: Sanctions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Question 115475 on Burma: travel restrictions, whether he raised Burma and formalised travel sanctions on Burmese military leaders at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in December 2017.

Mark Field: The situation in Burma was not on the agenda for the December 2017 meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. In the Answer [cited by the Honourable Gentleman], the Government committed to considering additional measures with EU partners if the Burmese authorities failed to heed the calls of the UN Security Council Presidential Statement of 6 November. It was not possible to make this determination in time to allow discussion at the December Foreign Affairs Council, as the UN Secretary-General did not report to the Security Council until the following day.Following the Secretary-General's report, we are assessing, with EU partners, whether targeted EU sanctions against individual senior military officers would be effective in changing the behaviour of the Burmese military.

Burma: Sexual Offences

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department’s capacity needs assessment on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in Burma has been completed.

Mark Field: The capacity needs assessment in Bangladesh was completed on 3 December 2017. It provided valuable recommendations for the government on issues of political engagement, international coordination, support for survivors, evidence gathering and prevention of further crimes including sexual violence and human trafficking. The FCO and DFID are working closely together to action the recommendations, with most now already being implemented in partnership with domestic and international partners.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Public Private Partnerships

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many public-private partnership projects her Department is funding through its international development aid budget; and what those projects are.

Harriett Baldwin: The UN estimates there is a major financing gap of around $2.5 trillion p.a. for developing countries in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals which will need to be met by the public and private sector. There is no internationally agreed definition of a Public Private Partnership (PPP). However, DFID supports developing countries in many ways to mobilise private finance, including through forms of Public-Private Partnerships. DFID’s approach mobilises much needed private investment in infrastructure and other sectors where private sector activity is limited. This includes projects financed through CDC, the World Bank Group, the regional development banks, and the Private Infrastructure Development Group. In some of these investments the government of the developing country will be the end purchaser of the services. In all our work DFID has a strong emphasis on value for money. The Public-Private Partnerships that DFID supports play an important role in providing access to services that might otherwise not exist in those countries. In the absence of this type of support, developing country governments would need to raise capital in debt markets to meet the costs of these essential investments. Details on the range of Public-Private Partnership projects that DFID supports can be found on the following websites: https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/; http://www.cdcgroup.com/; http://www.worldbank.org/; https://www.afdb.org/en/; https://www.adb.org/; https://www.iadb.org/en; http://www.caribank.org/; http://www.ebrd.com/; http://www.eib.org/; https://www.aiib.org/en/index.html; http://www.pidg.org/ and http://data.pidg.org/

Developing Countries: Public Health

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the recommendations of the overall programme review of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual property of WHO; and what steps the Government plans to take to support the WHO secretariat in promoting transparency in and understanding of the costs of research and development.

Harriett Baldwin: The recommendations of the overall programme review of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health Innovation and Intellectual property were discussed at the World Health Organisation Executive Board Meeting in January 2018. The UK Government is supportive of the strategy. The UK, together with other Member States, will be involved in further discussions about the recommendations, including work on promoting transparency in and understanding of the costs of research and development, and how to support the WHO Secretariat to take them forward, at the World Health Assembly in May 2018.

Non-governmental Organisations: EU Grants and Loans

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect on the work and effectiveness of UK-based humanitarian NGOs of those organisations losing access to ECHO funding as a result of the UK leaving the EU .

Harriett Baldwin: Britain is a development superpower. We have world class development organisations delivering aid to those who need it most. In 2016, UK NGOs received around €200 million in new ECHO funding commitments. NGOs are making their own assessments of the effect of losing access to ECHO funding, which they have been discussing with me periodically as we prepare to leave the EU.We are working as part of the negotiations on the future EU funding instruments to ensure that third country organisations have access to these instruments in the next few months.

South Sudan Council of Churches

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department has provided to the South Sudan Council of Churches in its reconciliation work in that country.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided on 16 January to Question 121852.

Bangladesh: Non-governmental Organisations

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department provides to small non-governmental organisations based in Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: DFID supports a number of small NGOs in Bangladesh through our projects and programmes, through the UN and other intermediaries. This ensures that DFID’s work is making best use of local knowledge and expertise to engage at the grass-roots level. Some of our work with small NGOs has been stopping violence against women and girls, protecting children, and supporting the rights of marginalised people.

Department for International Development: Drinking Water

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much money her Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID stopped buying bottled water for its UK offices in 2007. Mains-fed water filter units, serving chilled tap water, are installed throughout the UK offices for the use of both staff and visitors. The FCO now manage our overseas offices and are responsible for the provision of supplies, such as bottled water. DFID’s usage will be included in their response for the overall overseas estate to this question. In many countries the mains water is not drinkable and bottled water is provided. However, we do not keep any records of purchases or amounts spent; these are held by the FCO.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the role of the World Bank in resolving the humanitarian crisis of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: The World Bank has a potentially important role to play in the Rohingya refugee crisis, alongside other development partners. The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) Refugee Window, to which the UK contributes, is a dedicated source of funding for host governments struggling to meet the needs of refugees and their host communities. At the request of the Government of Bangladesh, in November 2017 a World Bank mission investigated how the IDA Refugee Window could be used to support the Rohingya crisis. It is now up to the Government of Bangladesh whether it wants to request support.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the Government of Bangladesh on registration of international NGO's to support humanitarian work for Rohingya refugees in that country.

Alistair Burt: We have been urging the Government of Bangladesh to grant appropriate permissions to facilitate the important work of NGOs. This issue is raised regularly with the Bangladesh Government, including by DFID and FCO officials from the British High Commission in Bangladesh. It has also been raised at ministerial level, including with the Government of Bangladesh during a joint visit by FCO and DFID Ministers to Bangladesh in September 2017.

Department for International Development: Presidents Club

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any Ministers in her Department attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educatonal Trust in an official capacity.

Harriett Baldwin: No DFID Minister attended this event.

USA: UNRWA

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with his US counterpart on that Administration’s decision to withhold funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that decision on programmes operating in the Middle East.

Alistair Burt: The UK has discussed the situation in detail with the United States, all other main donors, and host Governments in the context of the recent United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Advisory Commission. The UK has highlighted our concern about the impact on the activities of UNRWA that any unexpected reductions or delays in predicted donor disbursements might have. My officials are working closely with UNRWA, the United States, and other European Union partners to understand the risks to UNRWA’s programmes and to ensure the continuity of services for Palestinian refugees. The UK is concerned about the impact on UNRWA’s activities whenever unexpected reductions or delays in predicted donor disbursements occur and, in particular, how this may disproportionally affect the most vulnerable refugees. We are liaising with UNRWA on their plans for service continuity. UNRWA has publically stated their determination to continue services in all their fields of operations.

Department for Education

GCE A-level: Knowsley

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that young people in Knowsley have access to academic A-levels within their borough.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley will have A level provision restored through its delivery at SK College Group’s Knowsley campus from September 2018. The 2018/19 prospectus has been published, setting out the A levels available. The Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) understands that the college has received 95 A level applications to date for the 2018/19 academic year, and that it is currently reviewing each in order to make an appropriate offer to each young person. The ESFA is working closely with Knowsley local authority, ensuring the implementation of ‘Knowsley Better Together’; the wider local plan for improving access to A levels in Knowsley.

First Aid: Curriculum

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with (a) NHS Commissioners, (b) the NHS Ambulance Service, (c) teachers' representatives and (d) parent bodies on the potential merits of teaching first aid as part of the curriculum in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



The Department is currently speaking with a broad range of expert organisations about the potential curriculum content for the new compulsory subjects of relationships education (in primary schools) and relationships and sex education (in secondary schools), and in considering whether to make personal, social, health and economic education compulsory. As part of this work, the Department has been in contact with teachers' representatives and parents’ bodies. The Department has also engaged with the British Heart Foundation, the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance. Discussions have considered whether first aid should be included. The evidence the Department gathers from these discussions, along with the call for evidence that was launched in December and closes on 12 February 2018, will support the Government’s decisions on compulsory subject content. The Department will formally consult on the draft regulations and guidance before laying the regulations in the House for debate.

Academies: Cambridge

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many unqualified teachers worked in academies in Cambridge constituency in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17; and how many unqualified teachers are working in academies in that constituency.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



In November 2015, there were 19.3 full-time equivalent teachers (FTE) without Qualified Teacher Status employed by all academies in the Cambridge constituency. This represents 7.5% of all full time equivalent teachers in academies in the Cambridge constituency.In November 2016, this rose to 22.4 FTE teachers and represents 8.2% of all FTE teachers in academies in the Cambridge constituency. This is the latest year for which information is available.

GCE A-level: Knowsley

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the future provision of academic A-levels in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: As a result of the recent merger between St Helens College and Knowsley Community College, brought about through Area Based Review, the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley will have A level provision restored through its delivery at the merged college (SK College Group) Knowsley campus from September 2018. The 2018/19 prospectus has been published, setting out the A levels available. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) understands that the college has received 95 A level applications to date for the 2018/19 academic year. The ESFA is working closely with Knowsley local authority, ensuring the implementation of ‘Knowsley Better Together’; the wider local plan for improving access to A levels in Knowsley.

Carillion

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what analysis he has made of the exposure of schools following the liquidation of Carillion.

Nick Gibb: Our priority has been to ensure schools can continue to operate as usual. Government is supporting the Official Receiver, so that services to schools and other public services can continue. To date, all schools have remained open and no significant issues have been reported.Local authorities and academy trusts are responsible for their own contracts. The Department has worked with local authorities and academy trusts to make sure they have robust contingency plans in place and that these have been actioned, where required. Information available to the Department indicates that the number of local authority and academy trust schools, covered by catering, facilities management or other service contracts which could affect the day to day running of a school is relatively low. The department, local authorities and trusts also contract with Carillion for the delivery of a small number of school building projects, where work may need to be re-procured.The Department is continuing to monitor developments and provide support where it is needed to help minimise any disruption.

GCSE

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average GCSE score is of students currently enrolled at (a) sixth form colleges, (b) school and academy sixth forms and (c) 16-19 free schools in England.

Nick Gibb: The attached table shows the average GCSE score of students at the end of their 16-18 study, in each of the requested school types for 2016/17.



Average GCSE score of students, end of 16-19 study
(Word Document, 15.36 KB)

Office for Students

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration she gave to appointing a representative of the National Union of Students to the board of the Office of Students; and for what reasons she decided  against doing so.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Schedule 1 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 sets out the criteria for the composition of the Office for Students board. The criteria was extensively debated by Parliament during the Bill – I refer the hon. Member to the debate at Report Stage: http://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-11-21/debates/3C2C0C73-35CF-4108-B68D-44820B49059B/HigherEducationAndResearchBill.

Schools: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on schools in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

Anne Milton: The department will be monitoring the uptake of apprenticeships by schools, as we would with other parts of the public sector. Public sector bodies are required to annually publish and report to the department on their progress towards the apprenticeship target. The first reports (covering the period 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018) are due by 30 September 2018. As we have outlined to the Public Accounts Committee, our assessment of the cost pressures on schools will include the financial impact of the apprenticeship levy.

Pupils: Sexual Offences

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle sexual violence and sexual harassment between pupils in schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: The hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough, may wish to be aware that on 14 December, we published dedicated advice on sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges. This explains what sexual violence and sexual harassment is, how to minimise the risks of it happening and how to manage reports of incidents.At the same time as publishing the advice, we launched a consultation on proposals to update the department’s statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, from September 2018. The consultation closes on 22 February 2018.As part of the consultation we are seeking views both on the content of the advice on sexual harassment and sexual violence and on the extent to which it should be reflected in the statutory guidance.We plan to publish the revised ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance, for information, early in the summer term 2018. This will give schools and colleges adequate time to review their policies and procedures and make any changes necessary to meet the requirements before the guidance comes into force in September 2018.

Graduates

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people from (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England graduated from university in the 2016-17 academic year.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes information on enrolments and qualifications obtained at UK higher education institutions. The latest statistics, referring to the 2016/17 academic year, were published on 11 January 2018 at the following link: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/11-01-2018/sfr247-higher-education-student-statistics. The number of qualifiers from higher education courses who were domiciled in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside local authority, the North East region and England, prior to study in the 2016/17 academic year, has been provided in the table below. Higher Education qualifiers1)2)3) by place of domicile prior to study4)UK Higher Education InstitutionsAcademic year 2016/17Academic yearJarrow constituencySouth Tyneside local authorityNorth East regionEngland Total2016/176151,08020,905459,425Source: Department for Education analysis of HESA’s Student RecordNotes:1) Figures are based on the HESA qualifications obtained population (https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/definitions/students).2) Includes qualifiers from both undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study.3) Figures are rounded to the nearest multiple of five.4) Constituency and local authority is derived from the student's postcode prior to study.

Faith Schools: Admissions

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish its response to the Schools that Work for Everyone consultation, published on 12 September 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The department plans to respond to the proposals set out in the consultation document, ‘Schools that work for everyone’, including those regarding the faith admissions cap, in due course.

Carillion

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the most recent assessment took place of Carillion's ability to fulfil its contractual obligations in the education sector.

Nick Gibb: The Department has been working closely with the Cabinet Office to monitor the situation since profit warnings were first issued last July. The Department remained hopeful that a solution could be found while preparing for every eventuality. Our priority has been to ensure schools can continue to operate as usual. Local authorities and academy trusts are responsible for their own contracts. The Department has worked with local authorities and academy trusts to make sure they have contingency plans in place and that these are being actioned, where required. To date, all schools have remained open and no significant issues have been reported. The Department is continuing to monitor developments and provide support where it is needed to help minimise any disruption.

Schools: Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary age children in (i) Cornwall and (ii) North Cornwall who attend a school rated (A) outstanding and (B) good by Ofsted.

Nick Gibb: In England, 20% of pupils were in outstanding and 70% were in good primary schools as at August 31, 2017.Ofsted inspection data shows that in Cornwall, 20% of pupils were in outstanding and 69% were in good primary schools as at August 31, 2017. In North Cornwall, 9% of pupils were in outstanding, and 77% were in good primary schools as at August 31, 2017.In England, 28% of pupils were in outstanding and 55% were in good secondary schools as at August 31, 2017.Ofsted inspection data also shows that in Cornwall 10% of pupils were in outstanding and 78% were in good secondary schools as at August 31, 2017. In North Cornwall, 10% of pupils in outstanding and 78% were in good secondary schools as at August 31, 2017. Ofsted’s latest statistics are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/maintained-schools-and-academies-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2017.

Arts: Education

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to provide children with access to the arts after the EBacc becomes compulsory in schools.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is not compulsory; however, the Government wants children to benefit from an academic curriculum that keeps their options open for future study, training and work. By September 2022, the Department aims for 75% of Year 10 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools to be studying GCSEs in the EBacc combination of subjects.The EBacc, whilst comprehensive, has been designed so pupils continue to study additional subjects that reflect their individual interests and strengths. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications. As the EBacc covers seven GCSEs, or eight for those pupils taking triple science, this leaves room for other choices, including arts subjects.At Key Stage 4, pupils in maintained schools must be offered the opportunity to study at least one subject in the arts 'entitlement' area.Arts and music will remain available to all pupils. £300 million of ring-fenced funding in music hubs is being invested between 2016-20. Other programmes that continue to be funded include the Music and Dance Scheme, National Youth Music Organisations, ‘In Harmony’ and Art and Design Saturday clubs.

Schools: Finance

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 7 December 2018 to Question 117413 on Schools: Finance, how many disapplication requests for the ring-fenced dedicated schools grant his Department received from local authorities for the financial year 2018-19.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



To date, for the 2018/19 funding year, there have been forty-eight requests to disapply the Dedicated Schools Grant conditions of grant in relation to the movement of funding out of the schools block. Nineteen of these requests have since been withdrawn.

Schools: Internet

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to promote digital safety in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools to tackle (i) cyber-bullying and (ii) online grooming.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



The Department’s statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) states that all schools should have appropriate filters and monitoring systems in place to safeguard children from harmful material online.All schools must have a behaviour policy, including measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Government funded The UK Safer Internet Centre to develop cyberbullying guidance for schools and an online safety toolkit. The Department is providing £1.6 million of funding for four anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, all include cyberbullying as an integral element.The National Curriculum for computing covers e-safety including using technology safely, recognising inappropriate conduct and how to report concerns.The Department has legislated to make relationships education (primary level) and relationships and sex education (secondary level) mandatory in all schools, in the future. We expect young people to be taught about positive, healthy relationships and keeping themselves safe in a variety of situations, including online.

Primary Education: South Yorkshire

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children in (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire who are (i) eligible and (ii) not eligible for free school meals reached the expected standard in (A) reading, (B) writing, (C) maths and (D) all of these subjects at the end of Key Stage 2 in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



The number and percentage of pupils, at the end of Key Stage 2, who reached the expected standard in reading, writing, mathematics and all three combined in Barnsley and South Yorkshire is published in the Department’s statistical first release[1]. The figures have been provided in the attached annex.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-key-stage-2 - Select the revised publication for each year and then download the ‘underlying data’, then open ‘KS2_LA_CHAR_UD_2’.



124672 Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.18 KB)

Arts: GCSE

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the uptake of arts subjects at GCSE level; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 29 January 2018



At Key Stage 4, all pupils in maintained schools must be offered the opportunity to study at least one subject in the arts ‘entitlement’ area, which includes art and design, music, dance, drama, and media arts. In November 2016, the Department announced a package of funding for music and cultural education that is designed to improve access to the arts for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country. The Department is providing £300 million of ring-fenced funding from 2016-20 to music education hubs. The national network of 120 music education hubs ensures that all children have access to a high quality music education, including learning to play musical instruments and having the opportunity to play and sing in ensembles.

Training: Devolution

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on the devolution of skills to directly elected mayors and combined authorities.

Anne Milton: The department will devolve the adult education budget to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority for 2019/20, subject to certain readiness conditions. We are working collaboratively with local areas to ensure people can gain the skills that meet both local and national needs and will be setting up Skills Advisory Panels to further inform local areas about the skills needs.

Adult Education: Inspections

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many providers of adult education in each region have not been inspected by Ofsted in the last three years; and what Ofsted grade each provider was given at the last inspection.

Anne Milton: This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Adult Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of subcontractors of adult education provision; and what the total value is of that subcontracted provision in each region.

Anne Milton: Data from the Individualised Learner Records in 2016/17 shows that with the adult education provision, a total number of 1,382 organisations had been categorised as subcontractors. It is not possible to assign a value to subcontracted provision in each region.

Adult Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to inform the Mayoral Combined Authorities and Greater London Authority of their funding allocation for the devolution of the Adult Education Budget in 2019-20.

Anne Milton: The budget for the further education and skills sector is confirmed annually prior to the start of the academic year. Officials are in communication with Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, and will inform them of their indicative funding allocations for 2019-20 in spring 2018, with final allocations confirmed before the 2019-20 financial year.

GCSE: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what the average GCSE score was for pupils in (a) Coventry and (b) West Midlands in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: Information on the the average GCSE attainment of pupils in state-funded schools, at the end of key stage 4, since 2015 in Coventry and West Midland in each of the last three years [1] is published in the Statistical First Release at local authority, regional and national level in the “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2016 to 2017”[2].Please note that the Department's new headline measures are Attainment 8 and Progress 8 and have been provided as the measure of "average” GCSE score.[1] 2016/17 data is revised and all other years are final.[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676350/SFR01_2018_LA_tables.xlsx (Table LA2)

Nadhim Zahawi

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families reported his concerns on the Presidents Club dinner of 18 January 2018 to officials in his Department or the Cabinet Office prior to 23 January 2018.

Anne Milton: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State attended the event in a private capacity.

Nadhim Zahawi

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether attendance at the Presidents Club dinner of 18 January 2018 is compatible with the (a) responsibilities of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families' portfolio and (b) Ministerial Code.

Anne Milton: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State attended the event in a private capacity. The event was not in any way connected to his departmental role.

Nadhim Zahawi

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Minister for Children and Families has completed any equality and diversity training since assuming that ministerial role.

Anne Milton: On appointment, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State received a letter from the Permanent Secretary drawing his attention to the Ministerial Code, and a copy of that code. Ministers are expected to observe the Seven Principles of Public Life. The Ministerial code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties. It provides guidance to ministers on how they should act and arrange their affairs in order to uphold these standards. The code is clear that harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated.

Further Education: Admissions

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 currently participate in tertiary education.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department’s official estimates of participation in education, training and employment for young people academic age 16-18 are published annually. Latest figures were published in June 2017 and relate to a snapshot of young people at the end of the previous calendar year (end 2016). End 2017 figures will be published end June 2018. These official participation estimates are published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/participation-in-education-training-and-employment-2016.

Further Education: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2018 to Question 123890, for what reasons that answer stated that the Government classes tertiary education as being post-18 education when the Answer of 19 October 2017 to Question 108669 stated tertiary education as being post-16 education.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The internationally recognised understanding of the term tertiary education, in line with the International Standard Classification of Education, corresponds to English qualification levels 4 and above, which are typically taken by those aged 18 and over. If I may clarify, it was the hon. Member's original question (123890) which referred to tertiary education as being post-16 education. The answer to Question 108669 confirmed the government’s commitment to all post-16 education.

Dedicated Schools Grant: Kingston upon Thames

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to make a decision on whether to grant the request  from Kingston Borough Council to disapply guidelines on the ring-fenced dedicated schools grant for the 2018-19 financial year.

Nick Gibb: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already made decisions on some cases and the relevant local authorities have been informed. We are still reviewing the other cases received, and will give local authorities a decision shortly. Each request requires detailed review against the criteria issued in August 2017 and in some cases further information has been needed, on matters such as school forum decisions and local consultation, before a decision can be taken. Local authorities are required to issue budgets to all their maintained schools by 28 February 2018, and we have committed to ensuring that all decisions on disapplications are communicated in time for local authorities to meet that deadline.

Students: Finance

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2017 to Question HL3865 on Students: Finance, what the timetable is for quality checks on the Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2014-15 to be completed.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The report will be published shortly.

Educational Psychology

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many educational psychologists were employed in all local authorities in 2017.

Nadhim Zahawi: The attached table provides the number of Educational Psychologists (EPs) that were reported as being directly employed by each local authority in November 2016. The list excludes local authorities where EP provision has been outsourced or the provision has been shared with other local authorities. It would also be open to academies and free schools to obtain their own provision. 



Number of Educational Psychologists 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.7 KB)

Primary Education: Nurseries

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2017 to Question 119402, when his Department will begin to invest that £50 million.

Nadhim Zahawi: £50 million will be invested by the government to create more high quality school-based provision, as explained in the Social Mobility Action Plan, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/667690/Social_Mobility_Action_Plan_-_for_printing.pdf.We will announce more details of our plans for distributing this investment, and the process that will be involved, in due course.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 118334, on children: day care, on what date he plans to make an announcement on the buddy system for local authorities.

Nadhim Zahawi: Our delivery contractor, Childcare Works, continues to support and work closely with local authorities through the first year of national delivery, ensuring learning and best practice is shared across local authorities. Part of this support work includes the ongoing buddying scheme, which continues to progress well. Once the matches have been officially confirmed, this information will be made publically available.

Pupils: Mental Health

Chris Ruane: What steps he is taking to improve the mental health of pupils in primary and secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: We are consulting on the proposals in our green paper on Children and Young Peoples’ Mental Health published last month. Supported by over £300 million of funding it includes plans to train Mental Health Leads in schools, particularly in how to take a ‘whole school approach’ to promoting and supporting good mental health. Schools will also receive increased specialist support from new clinically-supervised Mental Health Support Teams.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Waste

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 117523, if he will make an estimate of the amount of food waste that goes to (a) landfill and (b) incineration.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The latest available estimates from the Waste and Resources Action Programme are available at the following link:http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Estimates_%20in_the_UK_Jan17.pdf.

Ritual Slaughter

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to regulate the non-stun slaughter of animals.

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on banning the slaughter of non-stunned animals.

George Eustice: The Government encourages the highest standards of welfare at slaughter. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but respects the right of the Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.We have stricter national rules aimed at reducing stress and providing protection for animals slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. These national rules include requirements for sheep, goats and bovines to be slaughtered immediately that they are restrained and not to be released from restraint until they are unconscious and at least 20 seconds have elapsed, in the case of sheep and goats, and at least 30 seconds have elapsed in the case of bovines.This year the Government is introducing mandatory CCTV recording in slaughterhouses. This will further enable official veterinarians to monitor and verify animal welfare standards in the slaughterhouse and ensure strict adherence to stand still time rules.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on banning the use of caged hens in egg production.

George Eustice: The conventional ‘battery’ cage for laying hens was banned in 2012. The current enriched ‘colony’ cages provide more space for the hen, a nest area, litter, perches and claw shortening devices. All permitted housing production systems for laying hens have their strengths and weaknesses, or offer some compromise on the different key elements of animal welfare. We have no plans to ban the use of enriched ‘colony’ systems in egg production.

Stray Dogs

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support work to re-home stray and abandoned dogs.

George Eustice: The introduction of compulsory microchipping of all dogs in 2016 has greatly reduced the number of stray dogs needing rehoming, because the stray dog and their owner can now be quickly reunited. According to the Dogs Trust’s annual Stray Dogs Survey Report, the number of stray dogs has dropped from 126,000 in 2011 to just over 66,000 in 2017. In addition my Department has been working with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (a group of animal welfare, pet industry and veterinary organisations) to promote more responsible advertising of pet animals, and to reduce impulse buying that so often leads to dogs being abandoned or handed in to re-homing charities. We are also updating the laws on the breeding and selling of dogs which will require all licensees to provide relevant information about pet ownership for prospective buyers, so that informed choices can be made before a purchase is made.

Livestock Industry

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the viability of the domestic livestock market after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: British farming has a reputation for high animal welfare standards and strong environmental protections. Livestock farmers are meeting ever more demanding consumer expectations, and this focus on quality and provenance will help sell our produce at home and abroad.As we leave the EU, we want to give farmers the time and the tools to adapt to the future. We have provided much needed stability through our commitment to maintain the same cash total in funds for farm support for the duration of this Parliament. This will avoid a cliff edge but also help farmers prepare properly for change.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, how many meetings he held with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between October 2017 and December 2017.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs held nine meetings with, or involving, his Chief Scientific Advisor between October 2017 and December 2017.

Air Pollution: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120934, what proportion of (a) the £3.5 billion air quality plan, and (b) the £475 million for local authority implementation will be awarded to (i) the West Midlands and (ii) Birmingham City Council.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The £3.5 billion committed to support the improvement of air quality consists of funding that supports various strategies like cycling and walking and grants for cleaner transport. It does not set specific allocations by areas and future funding awards cannot be prejudged. Examples of grants that have been awarded to the West Midlands are £39m for Birmingham Cycle Revolution, £6.9m for new low emissions buses and £1.1m for retrofitting buses and taxis, and £4.6m across Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry to support infrastructure for electric taxis. The £475 million is focused on supporting the local authorities with the most significant air quality challenges. Birmingham City Council and Coventry City Council have been required to draw up local plans to accelerate action to improve air quality. To date, they have been awarded £1.4 million between them to support their feasibility studies, and a further £1.2 million to Birmingham City Council to support implementation of early measures such as traffic management infrastructure. Most of the £475 million is still to be awarded, following the development of local plans.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Presidents Club

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any Ministers in his Department attended the Presidents Club Charity Dinner run by the Meller Educatonal Trust in an official capacity.

George Eustice: No Defra Ministers attended this event in any capacity.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Former Members

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many former Conservative Members of Parliament who were defeated at the 2017 general election and who now work in his Department were appointed after a publicly advertised and open recruitment process.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department does not routinely hold information on career histories of Civil Servants centrally as this would be held by individual recruiting managers or the Government Recruitment Service who run recruitment competitions. Selection for appointment to the Civil Service, as a permanent Civil Servant, is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles available at http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/RPApril2015.pdf. Information on the recruitment of special advisers is set out in the special advisers’ code available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579768/code-of-conduct-special-advisers-dec-2016.pdf. Special Advisers are bound by the standards of integrity and honesty as set out in the Civil Service Code but are exempt from the general requirement that Civil Servants should be appointed through an open competition.



Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles
(PDF Document, 1.25 MB)




Special Advisers' Code of Conduct
(PDF Document, 763.93 KB)

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he consulted with the Bank of England on plans to insert a provision on an exit date into the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Mr Robin Walker: No. The Government amendments to the Bill, which set exit day as 11pm on 29 March 2019, were intended to provide certainty and clarity, and ensure that domestic legislation reflected the position under international law, as set out in Article 50. The Government has since accepted further amendments which give the Government the technical ability to amend this date at a later stage - though only if the European Council, including the UK, unanimously decides to change the date at which the ​Treaties cease to apply to the UK as set out in Article 50. There are no plans to use this mechanism. These amendments simply reflect the operation of Article 50, and therefore would not have required consultation with the Bank of England. Ministers from across government have carried out extensive engagement on EU exit - with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK, including regulators, business representative organisations and financial institutions.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Mr Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department plans to update its website entitled Information about the Withdrawal Bill to reflect the decision of the House to pass amendment 7 to clause 9 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has provided a range of explanatory material to accompany the EU (Withdrawal) Bill in its passage through Parliament. We will update this material periodically to reflect any changes to the Bill as necessary.

Wales Office

Economic Growth: South Wales and South West

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will list the attendees of the Severnside summit held on 22 January 2018.

Alun Cairns: The attendees of the Severn Growth Summit are listed below.Davidap John-WilliamsPaulApplebyMikeBagshawSueBaileyGaryBakerTimBallKerry SianBallardGaryBarberJohnBarkerJoBarnesMarkBarryRobBasiniPhilBellZepBellaviaKatherineBennettJohnBensonDaveBestKimBolandTimBorrettTimBowlesLynetteBowleyKeithBrockAdamBrooksChrisBullRossBurnPaulaBurrowsRt Hon AlunCairns MPDavidCarterJohnChaplinRobertChapmanJamieChardChrisCharltonLisaChildsJeanChurchSamClarkPaulClarkRayCleggPaulColeChrisColemanPaulColesAdrianColesPatriciaConnorJamieCookNigelCostleyBenCottamNatashaCottellBarneyCottonJamesCrawfordNickCrewePatrickCutliffeCarolDaveyHuwDavidCllr GethynDaviesChrisDaviesJonDaviesMalcolmDaviesTimDaviesJonDawkinsNeilDenisonSteveDimmickMichaelDowPaulDowsonRichardDuffyJamesDurieJamieEddyGraemeEganAndrewEvansTreforEvansRhysEvansPeterEvansPeterEvansCllr MatthewEvansPeterEvansGeraintEvansPhilipEvans CBEBeckyFarmerLewisFawcittValerieFenderKatharineFinnDeborahFlintRobFloodAndrewForbesJonathanFoster-ClarkCllr PeterFoxBevFoxallLouiseFraddReeceFrancisAndrewGarradKevinGibbsAndrewGibsonWillGodfreyJimGodmanJamesGoreCllr AlanGrantChrisGrazierChristopherGrierHeidi-LouiseGriffithsChrisGriffithsCllr TimGwilliamKevinHamblinGrahamHarrisonAlexHarwoodNicolaHawleyFionaHawthornJennineHendyMichaelHensonClareHewittAdamHickmanCllr PaulaHiettRobertHillmanRogerHiscottCllr BruceHoganJenniferHolgateSamHollidayJaneHorneCassieHoughtonMarkHowardGreggHoweLeighHughesMarkIrelandRashadIsmailIanJacksonWendyJacksonOllieJamesAlanJarvieKatieJenkinsAndrewJenkinsRhiannonJenkinsLeightonJenkinsSteveJonesGeraintJonesBenJonesHuwJonesSianJonesHuwJonesCallumJonesDylanJones-EvansVeltaKimberBenKitchingDr JaspreetKularRobertLaddDanLangfordCllr RichardLeppingtonBenLewisHuwLewisHannahLewis-JonesMarkLoosemoreJodyLoughlinStevenLovellDeniseLoveringBenLowndesBenLucasLizzyMahonPaulMaliphantGrantMansfieldCllr DiMartinPaulMatthewsCorinneMatthewsWalterMayCllr ChrisMcFarlingJoeMcGeehanCraigMeadOliMelzackAntonyMerrittAlastairMilburnChantalMolonyCllr AndrewMorganWillMorganElganMorganAndrewMorgan JonesPhilipMortonDavidMorrisSamMummeryHamishMunroRebeccaNelsonGemmaNesbittRichardNicholasAnnO'DriscollDanOkeyJohnOsbornChristineOwenBeverlyOwenKeithPalmerKyeParkinPaulPaviaMikePayneNadinePayneJedPeacockNickPennyDr SarahPerkinsChrisPockettMeganPowell-WilliamsSimonPrescottMartinPriceJoPriceGarethPriceRebeccaPritchardThanhQuan-NichollsMustafaRampuriNickRamsayGrahamRandallJulieRawlinson-SmithDuncanReedRichardReesCristinaRetterTonyRichmondColinRiordanJonRobertsMarkRobertsCllr BrianRobinsonAllanRossDavidRosserDavidRosserSimonRowlandsKateRoystonSteveRummelsLiamRyanGarySangsterGarySangsterHannahScarbroughNigelScottVassilisSeferidisMarkShortlandCatherineSillarsAmandaSimiskerKieronSingletonAndrewSkinnerEwanSmithAndySmithJustinSmithDanSmithPeteSpittleTashSpoonerCllr LynnSterryRichardSugarmanLarsSundstromLarsSundstromChrisSuttonHowardSwiftHelenSwiftMatthewTaylorJamesTaylorRichardThickpennyAlisonThomSianThomasProfessor HywelThomasHuwThomasCarolineThompsonGaryThompsonSimonTothillRitchieToutSophieTraherneDavidTrevelyanSimonTrewZoeTudurCandiceTylerHilaryVaughanAmieVaughanTylerWakefordMichelleWardMartinWarrenRichardWatkinsGrantWatsonNeilWayTimWestwoodSamanthaWheelerAnneWhiteCllr DebbieWilcoxNickyWildinAndrewWilkinsonCharisWilkinsonPeterWilliamsNickWilliamsDarrenWoodJonWoodJamesWoodcockDorianWraggJohnWrightMarkYoungman

Economic Growth: South Wales and South West

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will list the invitees to the Severnside summit held on 22 January 2018 who did not attend.

Alun Cairns: The Severn Growth Summit was not invite-only and was open to all to attend. The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales did however, directly contact some key stakeholders to ensure they were aware of the event and had the opportunity to attend as did our partners Business West and South and Mid Wales Chamber of Commerce. Of those the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales contacted, the following did not attend according to our records: SallyBalcombeDebraBarberCarolBellJanetBellEmmaBigleyKevinBrennan MPKevinBygateNishanCanagarajahDestanieClarkeJamesCooperKevinCroftonDavidDaviesIestynDaviesThangamDebbonaire MPPeterDickinsonKevinDooleyStephenDoughty MPReeceEmmitAndrewEvansSimonFacePaulFlynn MPDouglasFreidliNicoleGarnonTomGriffinPaddyHalesMatthewHammondLouiseHarrisLauraHarveyWayneHarveyNeilHensonWeraHobhouse MPMarkHopwoodSiwanHywelMikeJamesSianJamesMarkJohnDarrenJones MPMatthewKennerleyJonathanKnightGuyLaceyColinLeaDavidLeightonRogerLewisJulieLydon OBEKerryMccarthy MPNeilMcManusAnnaMcMorrin MPJoshuaMilesJessicaMorden MPHeatherMyersDrewNelsonPaulOrdersMartynPhillipsAnthonyPicklesJohnPockettKenPooleChrisPottsIanPriceMarvinReesClaireRobertsHuwRossiterKarinSmith MPMattSouthallJohnSpeakeDavidStevens CBEJoStevens MPRobertSymonsNickTalbotRhodriTalfan DaviesSteveThomasAndrewTugwellDeborahWaddellElizabethWawrickGwynWilliams

Economic Growth: South Wales and South West

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the total cost to the public purse of the Severnside summit held on 22 January 2018 was.

Alun Cairns: The total cost of running the Severn Summit on 22 January 2018 was £13,926.60.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which EU (a) Directives, (b) Regulations and (c) other legislation affecting his Department he is planning to propose (i) revocation and (ii) amendment of after the UK leaves the EU.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 12 January 2018



The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will retain EU law as it applies in the UK on exit day. We expect between 800 and 1000 statutory instruments will be required across Government to correct this retained EU law to ensure the statue book functions appropriately outside the EU. All Departments are engaged in the process.Once we leave the EU, we will make our own laws. As we leave the EU, the Governments EU exit legislative programme is designed to cater for the full range of possible outcomes.

Offences against Children

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and (b) the Home Secretary on the extending the definition of a position of trust to include (i) sports coaches, (ii) youth leaders and (iii) religious leaders; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 11 January 2018



The protection of children remains a priority for this Government and we keep this important area of the law under review. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is currently developing proposals to extend the definition of a ‘position of trust’ in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, to bring into that definition sports coaches who hold a position of trust in relation to a child aged 16 or 17 under their care. We will consider these further with them once developed. Although I have not yet had any discussions with the Home Secretary on this matter directly, given my recent appointment.

Sentencing: Females

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost to the public purse was of (a) community supervision and (b) custodial prison sentences for female prisoners in each year for which data is available.

Dr Phillip Lee: Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not calculate separately the average cost of community supervision by gender. Additionally, the information recorded on the HMPPS central accounting system does not allow the identification of such costs. In respect of information for average cost for female prisoners serving custodial prison sentences, HMPPS routinely publishes average costs per prisoner, costs per prison place and overall prison unit costs for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales, including all categories of the female estate. This information is produced on an annual basis and is published after the end of each financial year. Information on prison expenditure for previous financial years can be accessed in the Prison and Probation Performance Statistics pages for each financial year on the www.gov.uk website. Prison unit costs can be found within the Excel document Costs per prison place and cost per prisoner by individual prison establishment in the ‘Cost by Establishment’ tab. The most recent published figures for financial year 2016-17 can be accessed on the www.gov.uk website from the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic s/prison-performance-statistics-2016-to-2017

Prisoners' Release: Employment

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on providing tailored employment support to prisoners before their release.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice works closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to improve the employment outcomes for prisoners. This included the review of the DWP Prison Work Coach role to ensure a greater focus on employment and ensure input throughout an offender’s sentence including:Facilitating work experience, training and employment opportunities, in prison and beyondlinking with local Job Centres to help prisons adapt their work and training to meet local labour market needslinking with Jobcentre Work Coaches to ensure continuous support as people leave prison.

Coroners: Greater London

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121252, on Coroners, whether he has made an assessment of whether the actions of the Coroner for Inner North London are in line with that guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Phillip Lee: Coroners are independent judicial office holders. As such, it would be inappropriate for Ministers to comment.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have reclaimed their tribunal fees as a result of the decision in R (on the application of UNISON) (Appellant) v Lord Chancellor (Respondent) [2017] UKSC 51 on 26 July 2017.

Lucy Frazer: The full refund scheme was rolled out on 15 November. Anyone who paid a fee can now apply for a refund. Provisional management information on the number of refunds paid, and their value, was published on the 18 January 2018 on the gov.uk website, which showed that by 18 December we had made 2,151 refunds worth £1.8 million.

Carillion

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2018 to Question 122617, which the prisons are which are receiving support services provided by Carillion and its subsidiaries; and what those services are at each such prison.

Rory Stewart: Carillion provides services at the following prison establishments;Blantyre HouseBedfordBullingdonColdingleyCookham WoodBureGrendonDownviewEast Sutton ParkChelmsfordHuntercombeFelthamFordHighpointAlbanyHighdownLewesHollesley BayParkhurstPentonvilleMaidstoneLittleheySpringhillSendRochesterThe MountWinchesterWandsworthElmelyNorwichWoodhillWormwood ScrubsStanford HillWarren HillBristolErlestokeSwalesideWaylandChannings WoodGuys MarshAylesburyWhitemoorDartmoorLeyhillExeterBelmarshEastwood ParkPortlandErlestokeThe Verne  Carillion provide a wide range of facilities management services. These include, but are not limited to, hard services such as planned and reactive maintenance, and soft services such as pest control, landscaping and cleaning.

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans Government has to implement the agreement reached by the Council of Europe on prisoner voting in the UK; how many prisoners he believes the extension set out in that agreement will apply to; and prisoners on which type of short-term licences will be eligible to vote.

Rory Stewart: For the first time, criminals when they are sentenced will be notified that while they are in prison, their punishment includes the loss of the right to vote. We are amending prison service guidance to address an anomaly in the current system, where offenders who are back in the community on licence can vote, but those who are in the community on temporary licence and working towards their release, cannot. In practice, it is likely that less than 100 additional offenders will be eligible to vote at any given time, based on recent data on the number of offenders released on temporary licence. The numbers released on temporary licence, on any given day is relatively small, partly due to the rigorous risk assessment that accompanies it. This change would not enable all offenders on temporary licence to vote as they would also need to be registered to vote or be able to register to vote (and, obviously, there would need to be an election). UK Government officials are working with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations on the implementation of these changes in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK Parliamentary franchise is a reserved matter but aspects of the criminal justice system is devolved.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of sanctions against parents with care who repeatedly breach access arrangements ordered by the family courts.

Lucy Frazer: Where the family court is satisfied that breach of a child arrangements order has occurred and enforcement action is necessary to secure compliance, it may make an enforcement order requiring the person in breach to undertake unpaid work. The court may also order that person to pay financial compensation to another person who has suffered a financial loss due to the breach. These powers are in addition to the court’s general powers to treat non-compliance as a contempt of court, which is punishable by imprisonment or a fine. The Government believes that these powers provide suitable options for sanctions for the court to consider when breaches of child arrangements orders take place.

Internet: Regulation

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, the publication of the Law Commission‘s Thirteenth Programme of Law Reform, what further steps his Department plans to take to review legislation on offensive online communications; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: Legislation that can be used to prosecute offensive online communications includes the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; the Malicious Communications Act 1988; and the Communications Act 2003. The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made changes to the relevant offences in these last two Acts which aims to ensure that people who commit them are prosecuted and properly punished. Not all communications which cause offence are illegal. My Department ha no current plan to introduce specific additional legislation to address offensive online communications.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been allocated Legal Aid funding to pursue (a) exceptional and complex cases and b) other cases, in the most recent three years for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: The information is already available in the Legal Aid Agency’s published National Statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-july-to-september-2017 (table 8.1). However please note that we do not have a separate category for “complex” cases, and that our figures relate to number of grants and not the number of individuals assisted (as one person can have multiple certificates).

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of providing Legal Aid in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: This information is published by the Ministry of Justice in its Annual Report and Accounts, the most recent version of which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630239/moj-annual-report-2016-17.pdf This is the total Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) and is taken from page 148 of the MoJ Annual Report and Accounts.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the most frequently given grounds for refusal of Legal Aid.

Lucy Frazer: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.The Legal Aid Agency assesses each application on its own individual circumstances against the relevant statutory criteria.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of tribunal appeals against (a) personal independence payments and (b) employment support allowance assessments were successful in the last 12 months in Leeds.

Lucy Frazer: Information about the volumes and outcomes of appeals to the Tribunal is published at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. (a) The information required is set out in the table below.YearPersonal Independence Payment 1 Appeals in Leeds Venues 21 October 2016 – 30 September 2017 357% in Favour 4  SSCS appeals are normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellants’ home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellants’ actual address, but can produce reports detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional centres or venues. (b) This information is not held centrally.  1 Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) which replaces Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independence Payment (Reassessments). 2 Leeds venue - Covers all appeals heard at the Leeds Venue. 3 The latest period for which data are available 4 % in Favour provides the number of appeals where the decision was found in the favour of the appellant as a percentage of the total number of appeals disposed of (this is inclusive of both those cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need of a Tribunal hearing). Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available.

Custodial Treatment: Females

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of women have been given custodial sentences as a proportion of all sentences in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The information can be found in the sentencing data tool in the annual publication, linked below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2016We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. That is why we plan to set out a strategy for female offenders, to improve outcomes and services for women in both the community and custody.

Custodial Treatment: Females

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the UK's comparative international position for custodian sentences given to female offenders as a proportion of all sentences in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are aware of independent assessments of female prison population internationally, such as the World Female Imprisonment List published by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London. We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. That is why we plan to set out a strategy for female offenders, to improve outcomes and services for women in both the community and custody, including how we can do more in the community so custody is only used when absolutely necessary.

Cabinet Office

Intelligence Services: Detainees

Mr Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he will issue a direction to place on a statutory footing the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's oversight of the Consolidated Guidance to Intelligence Officers and Service Personnel on the Detention and Interviewing of Detainees Overseas, and on the Passing and Receipt of Intelligence Relating to Detainees.

Mr David Lidington: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



I can confirm that the Prime Minister has issued a direction to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner under section 230 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 to continue the statutory oversight of the Consolidated Guidance that was previously provided by the Intelligence Services Commissioner. The direction will be published shortly on the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office’s website.

Ethnic Groups: Equality

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to address the disparities and inequalities revealed by the race disparity audit, published on 10 October 2017.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what resources he has dedicated to working on the Government's policy response to the findings of the race disparity audit, published on 10 October 2017.

Mr David Lidington: Following the publication of the Race Disparity Audit’s Ethnicity facts and figures website on 10th October, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to tackle the disparities identified by the Audit. The Government has already launched an initial programme of work to tackle some of the disparities. This includes the Department for Work and Pensions taking action to improve ethnic minority employment rates in twenty targeted areas, action by the Ministry of Justice to implement recommendations made in the recent Lammy Review and the Department for Education taking forward an external review to improve practice in exclusions. Further announcements on future Government work will be made in due course. Tackling these disparities involve not just Government but local public services, the voluntary sector and businesses. The Government has made a commitment that it will “explain or change” key ethnic disparities identified by the Audit. Where significant disparities between ethnic groups cannot be explained by wider factors, the Government will work with partners to change them. The Race Disparity Unit in the Cabinet Office will be responsible for coordinating the Government’s response to the Audit. The Unit consists of 20 members of staff, including digital, data and policy professionals.

Carillion

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money was due to be paid to Carillion by the Government on the day that company went into liquidation.

Oliver Dowden: At this stage, the Official Receiver is still assessing the company’s financial position. Details on monies owed to the company will be established by the Official Receiver and each debtor will be contacted in due course.

Carillion

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that SMEs do not experience delayed payments due to the liquidation of Carillion.

Oliver Dowden: Through the official receiver, we are continuing to make provision for payments to maintain public services both to suppliers and subcontractors. If any subcontractors are experiencing difficulties they should talk in the first place to the Insolvency Service.

Cultural Community Solutions: Contracts for Services

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government contracts were awarded to Cultural Community Solutions Ltd, and what the value was of those contracts, in each year since 2010.

Oliver Dowden: Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Carillion

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government contracts were awarded to Carillion in the past eight years in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Mansfield and (c) Nottinghamshire.

Oliver Dowden: Information on public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Government Departments: Procurement

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on the Government's commitment that 33 per cent of central Government procurement spending will go to SMEs by 2022; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: I refer the Honourable Member to the answers I gave the House on 10th January (Official Record, vol 634, col 309-310).

House of Commons Commission

Incinerators

Dr David Drew: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, which wastes are sent for incineration by the Parliamentary authorities; and whether the Commission has made an assessment of alternative sources of disposal for such wastes.

Tom Brake: Parliament’s ‘general waste’ stream is sent for incineration at an ‘energy from waste’ facility. General waste bins in offices are clearly marked and are for food, food contaminated packaging, crisps packets, tea bags, coffee grounds, disposable coffee cups and take away meal containers.The House authorities and their waste contractor carry out audits of the general waste stream to identify opportunities to move general wastes up the waste hierarchy, by avoiding the generation of wastes in the first instance, and to identify ways to increase recycling where possible.